The Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) has approved a P263.2 million infrastructure project intended at improving agricultural transport and market access in Rizal town, Occidental Mindoro.

The project includes the construction of the 122-meter Surong Bridge and the upgrading of a 4.69-kilometer farm-to-market road in Barangay Aguas.

Funded under the DA-PRDP Scale-Up initiative and supported by a World Bank loan, the development is expected to improve rural connectivity and boost the income of farmers in the area.

An invitation to bid for the project was issued on July 1, 2024, with a target completion timeline of 457 calendar days, placing expected completion sometime in 2025.

Occidental Mindoro, a predominantly agricultural province, has seen substantial growth in its farm and fisheries output in recent years.

The DA-PRDP targets to foster further growth, targeting a 5% increase in annual real farm incomes and up to 30% income growth for enterprise beneficiaries.

Officials from the DA-PRDP, the Provincial Government of Occidental Mindoro, and local stakeholders recently held a meeting at the San Jose sub-office to review the project’s scope and implementation plans.

June V. Lee, Executive Assistant II, represented Gov. Eduardo B. Gadiano at the gathering.

The DA-PRDP Scale-Up program seeks to modernize rural infrastructure and agri-fishery value chains across 82 provinces and 18 regions in the Philippines, with an emphasis on climate resilience and market-oriented development.

File photo courtesy of DPWH (used for illustration purposes only)