GROUNDBREAKING. Key officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Maasin City government break ground for the World Bank-funded road project in Southern Leyte province in this Feb. 10, 2023 photo. The project will be completed next year. (Photo courtesy of DA) TACLOBAN CITY - After seven years of planning and preparation, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has officially begun the construction of a World Bank-funded farm-to-market road worth PHP176.05 million in Maasin City, Southern Leyte province. At least 4,630 residents in the villages of Hantag, Laboon, Malapoc Norte and Sur, and San Jose in Maasin will benefit from this program under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the DA regional office reported Wednesday. These five covered villages have a total agriculture area of 1,013 hectares good for coconut, rice, and some high-value crops. "We are very thankful that this project has finally come to reality. But more importantly, this is just a reminder to us that the government is investing a lot. This is where your taxes go. There is already an expectation that starting with the completion of this project, more agricultural projects will be fully developed," DA Eastern Visayas Regional Executive Director Angel Enriquez said in a statement. The 4.4-kilometer road is being funded through a PHP134.2 million World Bank loan, PHP16.77 million from the farm department, and PHP25.08 million from the city government. "This feels surreal. It's like you have long dreamed of it until you woke up grateful that the energy exerted, effort, determination, and persistence were all worth it because that dream finally came true. Many times, I promised the people in these communities about this project," said Maasin Mayor Nacional Mercado during the groundbreaking on Feb. 10. Enriquez urged the local government to ensure more agriculture development by drafting plans on what commodities can be developed. The road construction is part of the World Bank-funded PRDP designed to modernize and improve the resilience of the fisheries and agriculture sectors. The project will be completed in 2024. The PRDP is a six-year (2013-2018) initiative of the government envisioned to increase farm and fishery productivity and incomes in target areas. It seeks to achieve this objective by improving access of farmers and other industry players to a strategic network of infrastructure, market information, and support services. (PNA) }