BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan ordered the City Engineering office (CEO) to fastrack the identification of the city’s farm-to-market road to be improved with the P10 million fund from the agriculture department.
The local chief executive said for the CEO to select from 3 sites where the funds will be used so the program of work can be prepared for the concreting of the road network leading to the agricultural communities in the outskirts of the city.
“We have to immediately identify the site where the funds will be utilized specifically to concrete the road network leading to the agriculture areas in our city so that we can immediately access the funds from the agriculture department,” Domogan stressed.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol assured the release of P10 million for the upgrading and improvement of farm-to-market roads (FMR) in the city to help farmers immediately transport their produce to the markets without unnecessary delays thus improve food security in urban centers like Baguio.
Among the identified agricultural areas in the city include barangays Happy Hallow, Lucnab, Atok Trail, Sto. Tomas School Area, Sto. Tomas Proper, Ambiong, parts of Camp 7, Loakan Proper, Loakan Liwanag, Country Club village, Irisan, Kias, Bakakeng Norte/Sur and Bakakeng Central.
Domogan expressed the gratitude of the people and officialdom of Baguio to Secretary Piñol for this fund to help improve existing farm-to-market roads in the city, saying that the city’s agriculture sector will definitely get a big boost once the concreting of the identified FMR will be implemented in the coming months.
According to him, the upgrading and improvement of FMR in the city is one of the priorities of the local government but due to inadequate resources, some of the road networks have been left out, thus, the need for concerned government agencies to help fund the overall development of the city’s road network to spur more economic activities in the outskirts of the city.
He explained the city government fully supports the promotion of agriculture in the city even if Baguio is an education, trade and commercial center as agriculture provides the food on the table for its populace and the presence of vegetable farms and urban gardens even in the backyard of residents in response to the call for the put up of vertical farms is being encouraged to provide added attractions not only in the barangays but also in business establishments around the city’s central business district area.
He encouraged residents to maximize the available spaces in their backyards to raise organic vegetables to supply their needs and even supply the market as organic vegetables are now in demand in the market as people shift to healthy lifestyles.
By Dexter A. See
