Albay 3rd District Rep. Raymond Adrian Salceda on Friday has stood in defense of the Department of Agriculture (DA) from criticisms over its increased Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) budget for next year, rejecting claims it was excessive.
The DA original proposed budget of P16 billion for FMR in 2026 has more than doubled as pushed by the House of Representatives to P33 billion to expand road access to more farming communities and accelerate agricultural and countryside development.
In a statement issued last week during the committee hearing, Rep. Salceda, chair of the House Special committee on Food Security, threw his full support behind Agriculture Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu-Laurel, saying the allocation even remains insufficient to meet national needs.
“I am from one of the most rural districts in Bicol. ‘Hanggang ngayon po, sa mga distritong katulad ng distrito ng inyong lingkod, ‘carriada’ pa rin sa mga sakahan ang isa sa pinakamalaking problema ng magsasaka.’ (Until now, transporting harvests to markets remains as one of the major problems of farmers),” Salceda said.
“Today, as much as 40 percent of costs of farmers are in logistics. Another 30% of production is wasted in poor transport. Kapag walang daan patungong merkado, kawawa ang magsasaka. (If there are no access roads to markets, farmers indeed will remain miserable),” he said.
Based on an Asian Development Bank study, the country needs about 140,000 kilometers of F-M-Rs to modernize its rural logistics network, and some 70,000 kilometers more are needed. If one F-M-R kilometer costs about P15 million, the P33 billion for the facility approved by the Bicameral Committee in the 2026 is indeed seriously insufficient, and it will take some three decades more to address the problem, Salceda explained.
“Reforms relative to F-M-Rs in the DA under the leadership of Secretary Tiu-Laurel have already been started. The DA follows a National F-M-R Network Plan. This means we now have a definite direction. ‘Hindi na po pabara-bara o kung anu-ano na lang ang maisingit sa budget.’ (There will be no more scandalous insertions in the budget,)” he stressed.
“So, I would like to defend the Secretary against undeserved attacks that the DA F-M-R budget is bloated, and that the increase from P16 billion to P33 billion is unwarranted. ‘Kulang pa nga po ’yan sa pangangailangan ng bansa.’ (That’s even insufficient yet for the country’s requirements,)” Salceda said.
Salceda noted that There is also now an effort to converge the F-M-R projects of DA and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) under this administration, to address the country’s rural logistics and poor transport problems that the biggest hindrance to the growth of agriculture in the country.
He likewise shared that under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), the government is pledged to give farmers not only lands, but additional services, a pledge for social justice and affective logistics network. We should therefore, finish the F-M-R Network Plan.
Salceda pointed out that F-M-Rs serve not only agriculture. “They also reduce armed conflicts, and with good roads, farmers’ children can go to school. Vital government services, like health programs, could easily reach far-flung farming communities too. This is from my personal experience as a former mayor,” he said.
Secretary Tiu-Laurel has welcomed Congress’ decision to more than double the funding of his department’s F-M-Rs, calling it a “game-changing investment” for farmers, food supply chains, and rural economies” after lawmakers finalized the 2026 national budget.