President Marcos has ordered the Department of Agriculture to prioritize farm-to-market road (FMR) projects based on utility and development aspects.

Marcos said this as he led a sectoral meeting on the updates on the implementation of the Farm-to-Market Roads National Plan (FMRNP) in Malacañang on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

In his remarks, the President gave the order to the DA, which he concurrently heads, to ensure that initiatives remain on track with the said national plan.

"We'll have to assess it in terms of need. Where do we need the roads most?" he said.

"For example, roads that are heavily used that are not in good condition pero ang daming dumadaan na produkto ay ayusin natin (but many products are passing by them. We need to fix them)," he added.

President Marcos also told DA officials to coordinate with other concerned agencies to identify areas that need development and the construction of FMRs to ensure the smooth flow of goods and services.

He likewise noted that the rehabilitation and repair of FMRs damaged by flood and other natural disasters should also be considered.

"We have to be in coordination with other departments as to where are the areas na gusto nating pagandahin (that we want to improve), [where we want] to start planting high-value crops on this area. Kailangan lagyan natin ng FMR 'yan kasi gusto talaga nating pagandahin (We need an FMR there because we want to improve it),” he said.

Data cited by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) showed that as of October 2022, the DA and other government agencies had completed 67,255.46 kilometers of FMR projects or 51 percent of the 131,410.66-kilometer target.

"This is necessary to service 14 million hectares of the country's production areas for agriculture and fisheries," it said.

A total of 64,155.20 km of FMRs have yet to be completed, requiring an investment cost of P962.325 billion.