Two farm-to-market road (FMR) projects funded by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) are providing better accessibility and mobility for agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and other farmers in La Carlota City and Pontevedra town in Negros Occidental.

In La Carlota City, the P50-million, 2.4-kilometer (km) project involved concreting along Sitio Danao and Sitio Alacapa in Barangay Haguimit, linking them to neighboring Barangay Burgos in Pontevedra.

In Pontevedra, the P49-million, 2.7-km project is from Sitio Tamsik in Barangay General Malvar to Sitio Cabug in Barangay Pandan.

“By developing these essential roads, DAR aims to connect agricultural producers directly with manufacturing industries, thereby promoting greater efficiency and stability in agricultural production and marketing,” DAR Negros Occidental 2 (South) said in a statement.

The projects were turned over in separate ceremonies on November 14.

ARB organizations Hacienda Danao Farmers Association, Kauswagan Agrarian Reform Cooperative, General Malvar Agrarian Reform Cooperative, and Barangay Pandan Farmers and Farmworkers Association Katuwang sa Pagbabago proposed the projects.

In a statement, DAR Negros Island Director Lucrecia Taberna said that under the new region, the agency’s mantra is “One Negros, Serbisyo-Agraryo, Una (Agrarian Service is First).”

“This aims to unify efforts to provide agrarian reform services,” she said in a statement.

She also urged ARBs to strengthen their organizations and consider transforming their associations into cooperatives to access additional support services.

Under the Marcos administration, the DAR has positioned the development of FMRs as a key component of the nine-point agenda for the agrarian reform sector.

In 2022, there was a resurgence in implementing locally funded FMR projects after a decade-long hiatus, following the allocation of resources from the Agrarian Reform Fund. (PNA)