WHILE the Department of Agriculture (DA) is prepared to implement the farm-to-market road (FMR) projects, the standard cost per kilometer should vary depending on topography, according to a ranking official.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the benchmark quotation per kilometer for FMR projects, which stands at P15 million, should differ depending on the terrain’s conditions. This could be cheaper or more expensive than the current standard cost, he added.
‘The standard cost should vary depending on the area, if it’s flat or rolling [.] If it’s flat and already features an existing trail, the costs should be cheaper since it’s already compacted. It would cost more if it’s not yet compacted,’ De Mesa told reporters on Monday.
He said the FMR projects should also incorporate bridges to maximize their potential, noting that over 1,400 bridges need to be built nationwide.
‘These FMRs should also have bridges. What happens is roads were being built, but we couldn’t maximize their full potential because we don’t have bridges,’ de Mesa said.
He noted that based on their records, around 1,482 small bridges of about 20 to 60 linear meters should be constructed all over the country, most of which in Mindanao.
Earlier, the DA said it accepted the Senate’s challenge to take the lead in FMR projects amid allegations of misuse of public funds in previous FMR schemes managed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The agency had explained that even though FMR schemes are identified and validated by the agency, these road projects are commissioned, bid out, and constructed by the DPWH.
De Mesa noted that the agency initially took the helm of FMR projects before it was transferred to the DPWH.
‘During that time, we had an engineering department, but it was weak. And we didn’t have a BAFE [Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering] yet,’ he said.
Currently, De Mesa noted that the DA has BAFE, while its Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED) is ‘very strong.’
He added that the Philippine Agricultural Engineering Standards (PAES) for roads was already established.
‘So all of these mechanisms, plus the strengthening of the RAED, will help in implementing the DA’s FMR projects,’ he said.
Should the DA implement FMRs starting 2026, de Mesa said the government will find ways to carry these out given the number of projects involved.
‘There’s a lot of FMRs, and our regional offices might be taken aback. But it can be done through the local governments or a design-and-build scheme. There could be other ways on how to implement FMRs,’ he said.
‘The important thing here is to ensure that from the design to bidding to actual implementation, everything is done properly.’