BORONGAN CITY- Residents in Barangay Anislag, Quinapondan, Eastern Samar are now experiencing faster delivery of their products with the completion of the farm-to-market road (FMR) with cheaper transportation cost.
Brgy. Anislag is 6.40 km from Quinapondan town proper is nestled on a hilly and mountainous area.
“For so long ago, farmers used to travel by foot or carabao with their farm products. In the early 90’s, there already existed a gravel road. Residents travelled by motorcycle and tricycle with more or less 45 minutes to one hour from Brgy. Anislag,” farmer Rolly Pagadora said.
He said when the road was really in a poor condition, the farmers spent so much time in delivering their products so that they needed to transport their cargoes twice: first, by carabao and then by motorcycle.
“After we harvested our crops such as vegetables, root crops, bananas and coconuts, we had difficulty in selling them because the hauling cost was too expensive. We endured high transportation cost and long travel time that greatly affected the quality of our products and our income,” said Pagadora.
“These were some of our struggles until the Subsidiary Grant Agreement (SGA) came bringing the road concreting project to Quinapondan town and to our poor barangay,” he said.
The national government secured a financial contribution in the form of a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany under the Financing and Project Agreement (FPA) between the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the LGU of Quinapondan through SGA under the Yolanda Reconstruction Program (YRP), said Marites Servano, the municipal planning and development coordinator.
Under this agreement, P40 million came from SGA and P10 million from LGU Quinapondan as counterpart fund or equity.
“Because of the completion of the 4.5 km FMR with a bridge, the travel time now is only 20 minutes to 25 minutes and delivery of our farm products to the market is easier,” Barangay Councilor Linda Baston said.
She thanked the national government, Federal Republic of Germany, and LGU Quinapondan because of the positive changes brought by the project implemented in their area.
The FMR with bridge did not only benefit the farmers but also the high school students when going to school from Barangay Anislag to Quinapondan, the village councilor said.
(NBQ/SDC/PIA-EASTERN SAMAR)
