Marcos pushes for farm-to-market roads masterplan

The Department of Agriculture on Monday said it will come up with a farm-to-market road masterplan with the target of ensuring food security in the country.

In his meeting with DA officials, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.— who sits as Agriculture chief—said the FMR masterplan will serve as a guide for the government in promoting food security and empowering rural communities.

He said the masterplan should include regional maps which will indicate the exact locations of the farm-to-market roads that will be constructed.

“Kung sabihin nila saan ba ang areas na talagang kailangan nating buksan? 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,” Marcos said in a press release.

Marcos said the masterplan, which should be presented to economic managers, must include funding source, payment terms, and the time frame for project completion.

He noted that it would be the DA and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that will be in charge of the state-funded FMR projects.

He said the national government should prioritize areas “with active agricultural production to address supply chain concerns.”

“FMR is the first step to solve some of the supply chain problem. So unahin muna natin ‘yung nagpo-produce,” Marcos said.

He added that agricultural infrastructure should be climate change–resistant, including in areas that are not prone to landslides and other calamities.

Further, the President wants official development assistance-funded (ODA) projects to be constructed in priority areas identified by the government.

Streamlining

Marcos, who earlier instructed the streamlining of the bureaucracy to his Cabinet members, said the process of streamlining the functions of DA would continue “as part of efforts to bring a tighter focus on its mandate.”

“Siguro naman 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,” Marcos said in the meeting.

Marcos earlier said rightsizing government functions and streamlining the bureaucracy would 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,” he said. — BM, GMA News