QUEZON CITY – The National Farm-to-Market Roads Network Plan 2023-2028 was unveiled to the public during the 10th Anniversary Opening Program of the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (DA-BAFE).
DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Mark Llandro Mendoza led the unveiling ceremony held at the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Hall on June 20, 2023.
Witnessing the event were official representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).
The National Farm-to-Market Roads Network Plan (NFMRNP) 2023–2028, according to DA–BAFE Director Ariodear Rico, is the result of coordinated efforts by agencies that plan, fund, and implement road networks that pass through agricultural production areas and support the establishment of a national network of FMRs.
DA Sr. Usec. Panganiban extended warm greetings on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his opening message. To give every farmer and fisher an opportunity to modernize, President Marcos is pushing for infrastructure development and mechanization.
The achievements of BAFE over the past year affected the country’s economic strength and well-being, and for this reason, they are of great interest to everyone, said Sr. Usec. Panganiban.
“Malaki ang naiambag ng inyong ahensya sa kaganapan na ito. Dahil dito ay ipinaabot ng Pangulo ang kanyang pasasalamat sa inyong lahat,” said Sr. Usec. Panganiban who underscored BAFE’s contribution in combining science and collaboration to plan public works that are essential to the country’s food security and economic growth.
BAFE supervised the completion of rural transportation networks as part of the significant effort to increase the nation’s rural infrastructure as it continued to play a significant role in promoting the use of modern machinery throughout the food value chain, thus helping two million farmers and 21,000 cooperatives benefit from new and appropriate agricultural technologies.
In addition, BAFE assisted in laying the foundation for nearly a thousand additional kilometers of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) last year, all of which will be used in the coming years to increase national welfare and foster the development of new agricultural enterprises, Sr. Usec. Panganiban said.
The NFMRNP 2023-2028 aims to implement a whole-of-government approach where systems and processes of National Government Agencies work together. This includes convergence of government databases to ensure a unified information system on the mapping and inventory of road networks, market facilities, agricultural and fisheries key production areas, and other related interventions.
The convergence will facilitate the exchange, collaboration, and sharing of data. Moreover, it will also strengthen collaboration between NGAs and Local Government Units (LGUs), as LGUs play a significant role in the implementation of the program.
Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Department of Agrarian Reform – Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Office (represented by DAR-FASPO Asec. Josef Angelo Martires) and DA-BAFE (represented by Dir. Ariodear Rico) was signed for the purpose of integrating DAR’s Tulay ng Pangulo (PBBM Bridges) project with the information system of DA-BAFE’s ABEMIS and GEOAGRI to be able to monitor and evaluate at the various stages in the project implementation cycle. By Marshall Louie Asis
