A P310.9-million farm-to-market road project in Nueva Vizcaya is expected to reduce agricultural transport costs and improve market access for farmers producing high-value crops in the province.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) broke ground on the 10.86-kilometer Pangawan-Banao Farm-to-Market Road in Kayapa, marking the start of the infrastructure project funded under the World Bank-backed DA Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up.

The project will serve a 4,191-hectare road influence area covering agricultural communities that produce high-value vegetables and coffee.

The investment is financed through a P248.7-million World Bank loan, with P31.1 million each provided by the national government and the local government unit.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said farm-to-market roads are essential to connecting farmers with markets while reducing the cost of moving agricultural goods.

“Road projects are crucial in giving our farmers direct market access, reducing production and transport costs, and ensuring food security,” Laurel said. “By bridging remote farmlands to commercial hubs, we lower consumer food prices, curb everyday expenses, and power sustainable rural development nationwide.”

Travel time cut by half

The project targets a 50 percent reduction in travel time and transport losses, a 25 percent decline in agricultural hauling costs and a 17 percent reduction in input transport expenses.

It also aims to support a 2 percent annual increase in traffic volume, alongside yearly expansion of tomato production areas by 2 percent and coffee cultivation areas by 1 percent.

The road is expected to benefit 251 indigenous peoples’ households, 192 farming families, and 1,078 residents in the barangays of Pangawan and Banao.