Better road in Lanao leads to peace and development

Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte – The local chief of this town trusts that the arms for peace are not an armada of weapons but farm-to-market roads.

Mayor Benny Y. Baguio believes the road projects that his administration invested with the Department of Agriculture – Mindanao Rural Development Program (DA-MRDP) had been instrumental in achieving peace and order in his town.

“The barangays that our road project passes through used to be low producing and highly infested by rebels,” said the Mayor.

He said that although the farmers in the area have fertile lands, they were producing very low because farmers have abandoned their farms due to unfavorable road condition and insurgency problems. “While the basic reason why the people were on the ‘other segment of society’ was that they felt neglected by the government,” he added.

“Now, it’s peaceful and people went back to farming. That’s why we are really thankful first and foremost to the national government, the DA for this opportunity,” Bagiuo said.

“Farm-to-market roads helped a lot not only in attaining progress but also in our pursuit for lasting peace,” he added.

Farmers sigh of relief

The road project has also been a sigh of relief to the residents and farmers in Brgy. Tipulo as the rehabilitated road now connects them to the center of commerce of their hometown.

Brgy. Tipulo is the farthest barangay in Kapatagan. It lies in the boundary between Zamboanga del Sur and Lanao del Norte. Brgy. Councilor Albino Caballes

For years, they were virtually detached from the town since they do not have accessible route to the town proper. This forced them to bring their produce to the town of Aurora , Zamboanga del Sur, though quite far but it was more accessible.

“We were really thinking of transferring to the town of Aurora , should the local government units has not done something about our problem,” said Brgy. Councilor Albino Caballes.

“Only carabaos and horses could pass this road before,” said Caballes who is also a farmer.

Edmund Abne one of the farmer beneficiaries said that their products like coconut, corn, and vegetables were carried by farm carts pulled by horses or carabaos or manually carried by paid labor which in many cases destroyed quality of their produce.

“Before it will take us at least two and a half hours to bring our produce to town but with the construction of the road, around twenty minutes we are already there,” he said.

The farmer beneficiaries noted an increase on their income since their transportation cost was lessened due to the accessible roads which connect them to the economic center of town.

Complementation means Effective governance

Although admittedly mayor Baguio felt the 50:50 cost sharing mix is a bit difficult for the municipal government, nevertheless he said it will help a lot if LCEs efficiently manage its local coffers.

Program director Roger C. Chio said the program puts its stake on those LGUs who are also willing to put their own stake in the Program.

“We need to effectively complement our resources to create a more impressive impacts to the community that we serve,” Chio said.

“Infrastructures like road networks that we establish around Mindanao are all geared to alleviate poverty since these (roads) link rural and urban economies that spurs economic expansion and growth. It will also improve mobility, create more jobs, invite more investments and contribute much in improving peace and order,” he added.

As for Baguio: “As a mayor I understand that when development activities such as establishment of roads enter a community, more projects will come, so we realize prioritized putting in place the necessary infrastructures to support our farmers and residents.”

Inspired by the Program, Baguio even coined his own MRDP Program which was aptly called Municipal Roads for Development and Peace.

“The roads really brought development and peace to Kapatagan. Our farmers are inspired to expand their farming activities as they can now increase their incomes as a result of reduced transport cost and travel time to the market” the mayor said.

“It has also improved access to social services by people residing in far-flung barangays so they no longer feel isolated,” he added.

“We are glad, we partner with MRDP as it has helped us a lot in raising funds for our priority infrastructure,” he said. (Sherwin B. Manual/DA-MRDP)