190 farm-to-market roads set for procurement in second quarter

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) said 190 farm-to-market road (FMR) projects are due to be offered for procurement in the second quarter.

“Procurement will start in the second quarter. The DA will jumpstart the implementation of around 190 projects nationwide,” Cristy Cecilia P. Polido, director of the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE), told BusinessWorld via Viber.

This year, the DA is taking over the construction of FMR projects from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), with BAFE serving as the lead office for the program.

The DPWH was partly defunded because of the 2025 flood control corruption scandal, with FMRs taken away from it and the DA promising to build roads more attuned to farmer needs and more efficiently.

The FMR program was allocated P33 billion in the 2026 national budget to fund more than 1,600 projects, covering over 2,000 kilometers of roads.

With the takeover, the DA expects to accelerate project implementation and reduce the previously estimated cost of around P15 million per kilometer for a five-meter-wide FMR.

According to Administrative Order (AO) No. 4, signed by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. on March 6, the DA will identify priority FMR projects based on commodity roadmaps, the location of the majority of farmers and fisherfolk, and poverty rates.

Local government units (LGUs), community-based organizations, and farmers’ groups may also propose FMR projects, according to AO No. 4, a copy of which was obtained by BusinessWorld.

The order assigned FMR projects mainly to the BAFE and DA regional field offices, especially for high-impact commodity projects.

However, the DA may also enter into memoranda of agreement with the DPWH, qualified LGUs, other partners, or resort to public-private partnerships as authorized by the General Appropriations Act.

In cases where the DPWH implements the projects, it will be held to DA standards, specifications, costing, and technical guidelines.

“The DPWH shall utilize the FMR Transparency Portal to ensure transparency, accountability, and public access to project information,” according to the order.

LGUs will only be allowed to implement FMR projects if they demonstrate sufficient technical capability, financial capacity, administrative and legal compliance, and a commitment to sustainability.

“The LGU shall likewise provide 10% project counterpart funding, in cash or in kind, which may be utilized to fund expenses identified in the (memorandum of agreement),” the order read. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel