RAMON, Isabela—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday led the inspection of two major post-harvest facilities and a farm-to-market road, part of a combined P168.3-million investment aimed at improving farm logistics, reducing losses, and raising farmers’ incomes.
Joining the President were key national and local officials, including House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, Isabela Gov. Rodolfo T. Albano III, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., as they assessed the operational readiness of the onion cold storage and rice warehouse in Ramon, as well as the newly completed farm-to-market road in Santiago City.
In Ramon, a major agricultural hub due to its proximity to the Magat Dam, the P43.44-million onion cold storage facility—funded under the High Value Crops Development Program— benefits around 1,500 farmers from Isabela and neighboring Nueva Vizcaya. With a storage capacity of 20,000 bags or roughly 500 metric tons, the facility allows onions to be stored for up to seven months, significantly reducing spoilage and enabling farmers to sell when prices are more favorable.
Complementing this is the Ambatali warehouse with a multipurpose drying pavement, a P41.65-million project funded through the Philippine Rural Development Project. The facility will serve 2,290 farming households, or about 9,078 beneficiaries, by providing proper drying and storage for palay—eliminating unsafe roadside drying practices and helping farmers secure higher market prices.
In Santiago City, Secretary Tiu Laurel led officials in traversing the Rizal–Abra farm-to-market road, a P83.16-million infrastructure project also funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project.
The road project was financed through a mix of proceeds from a World Bank loan amounting to P60.71 million, P7.59 million from the national government, and P14.86 million in local government equity.
Completed in January 2026, the upgraded road is expected to cut transport costs by around 20 percent and reduce travel time by half, benefiting 523 farming households, or about 2,206 residents.The road project is also expected to expand the area planted with mungo, a crop the DA aims to promote to boost farmers’ incomes and reduce reliance on imports.
Tiu Laurel said the projects are part of a broader push to modernize Philippine agriculture and shield farmers from rising global risks.
“These investments are critical as we build a more resilient and efficient food system,” said the agriculture secretary. “With oil prices surging, the cost of fertilizers and transport is rising sharply—threatening farm productivity, squeezing incomes, and pushing food prices higher. By strengthening infrastructure from farm to market, we are protecting both our farmers and consumers while advancing food security,” he added.
Together, the projects address long-standing gaps in transport and post-harvest infrastructure—key constraints that have historically limited farm productivity and incomes—while reinforcing efforts to stabilize food supply and prices.
