To promote food security and empower rural communities, President and Agriculture Secretary Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Monday, July 18, directed the agriculture department to come up with a farm-to-market road (FMR) masterplan that will serve as a guide for the government.
During his meeting with officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA), he instructed them to include regional maps in the master plan, detailing the exact locations of the farm-to-market roads to be constructed.
He noted that the master plan must be thoroughly studied by the agriculture department and must be presented to the country’s economic managers.
“Kung sabihin nila saan ba ang areas na talagang kailangan nating buksan (If they will say, where are the areas we need to open)? We will go to Public Works. And also, what are the areas that we really want to open, that really need the FMR? Iyon ang unahin natin (That’s what we will prioritize),” said Marcos, adding that the plan should also include funding source, payment terms, as well as the time frame for project completion.
Moreover, he said official development assistance-funded (ODA) projects should be constructed in priority areas identified by the government.
Meanwhile, for state-funded FMR projects, Marcos said that the DA and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) should take charge of the implementation.
The government, according to him, must prioritize areas with active agricultural production to address supply chain concerns.
“FMR is the first step to solve some of the supply chain problems. So unahin muna natin ‘yung nagpo-produce.”
Also, it was suggested that agricultural infrastructure should be climate-change resistant such as projects that are not prone to landslides and other calamities.
As part of efforts to bring a tighter focus on its mandate, Marcos said the process of streamlining the functions of the agriculture department continues.
The President told officials of the DA during the meeting: “Siguro naman (Maybe) you have been hearing the new term now is ‘rightsize.’ So that’s also something that we are going to have to discuss. That we have to rightsize the DA.”
Earlier, the chief executive cited the need to rightsize government functions and streamline the bureaucracy to promote efficiency in public sector management.
“I have asked all of the department secretaries to do the same thing for their departments. So seeing as I am now holding the portfolio of Secretary of Agriculture, we also have to do it in our department,” said Marcos.