An P8 billion World Bank-funded farm-to-market road project is in the pipeline for central Philippines, including the province of Negros Oriental, Rep. Pryde Henry Teves (Neg. Or., 3rd District), said.

Teves announced the project after his trip to America where he attended a series of meetings with officials of WB and the United States Department of Agriculture, and toured farms in Maryland and Virginia. The trip was sponsored by the Committee on Rural Development of Congress.

Dubbed as the Central Philippines Rural Development Project, WB is allotting US$200 million or P8 billion for FMRs in four regions of central Philippines.

The counterparting scheme would be 80 percent to be funded by the WB and the remaining 20 percent by the local government unit concerned. This means that if an LGU allocates P200,000 for farm-to-market roads, P800,000 will be funded by the World Bank, Teves said.

He is urging LGUs in the province to communicate with the WB, through its country manager, or to the Department of Interior and Local Government, if they are interested in availing of the project, and to allocate funds in their 2013 executive budget so that the project may be realized in 2014.*JG

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