The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking to place about P80 billion worth of farm-to-market roads (FMR) under public-private partnership (PPP) to hasten the construction of farm roads in rural areas.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA is looking to tap the World Bank and the International Finance Corp. to develop a PPP system for farm roads throughout the country.
‘Once that happens, if there are companies that will be eligible for PPPs, then that will be good because it will be private-sector money that will fund these projects. The government will just pay them back over the years,’ he added.
Tiu Laurel said the move to tap the private sector would allow the government to expedite the implementation of FMRs all over the country.
‘Areas with high poverty rates are the ones that need roads. The residents there have plenty of produce, but they lack access and cannot get their goods out. If roads are opened up then poverty incidents will decrease,’ he added.
He noted that the projects for PPP would be on top of the P33 billion funded under the agency’s 2026 budget for FMRs.
The agency is looking to construct 2,300 kilometers of farm roads, split across 1,605 projects this year.
Tiu Laurel said that construction for FMRs is likely to begin by December this year for projects funded by the 2026 budget.
Bidding for FMR projects has been stalled as the DA assumed construction and implementation for FMR projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways.
For 2027, the DA was given a P16 billion budget for farm roads, with the DA chief stating earlier that this is not enough to fund its 55,000 kilometers target