THE Department of Agriculture (DA) continues to prioritize the livelihood of farmers and fisherfolk in the country.
This is through projects that aim to ease and expedite the value chain in the market.
According to the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) a total of 478 sub-projects amounting to P30-B has been completed.
This includes more than 2,000 kilometers of farm-to-market and linear meters of bridges.
Around 3,000 hectares of farmlands irrigated and almost 16,000 households accessing safe drinking potable water in the countryside.
This has resulted in a 66% and 64% reduction in travel time during the dry and wet seasons.
Change was also observed in the mode of transportation resulting in an increase in traffic count and a 52% reduction in transport costs due to the improved access roads.
The project has also provided market linkage assistance and technical services to these farmers and fishers groups to enhance producer productivity.
DA Asec. U-Nichols Manalo said that these value chain-oriented interventions has provided agricultural assets and services to 1.2 million farmers and reached more than 3 million individual beneficiaries.
As a result, it has increase household incomes of its farmer and fisherfolk beneficiaries by as much as 26%.
