Farm to Market Road?

Not so long ago rural farmers in our village dream to have a concrete road near the rice fields to have an easier transport of harvest.

There was a time also when I was still a child where we went to visit a coconut farm and the road was impossible to pass through because it's so muddy.

That was a long time ago.

We have now a connecting concrete road to some of the slippery zones in some of the farmlands in our village but not in distant farms near the mountains.

Rice and copra farmers needed to deliver their produce faster, this is why the farm-to-market-road is so important to ease the burden of the farmers in using much their energy in their going about in their farm and to put their much needed attention to their crops and daily work.

In recent years there had been a progress down a muddy trail towards the main rice fields of our village which lessens the distance people have to walk in carrying a sack of produce but it remained unfinished.

Not until recently a new farm-to-market-road was built near a hill.

A two lane highway built from the National Highway towards the next village.

We were greeted by the noise of the heavy equipment used in the said construction.

It took a two years to finish filling the major parts of the road and it took millions to create it.

The building price was publicised and placed somewhere on the side of the road for everyone too see.

The road before it was cemented was a trail road towards the next community which we call Sitio Cienda which is also one of the included zones of our baranggay (village).

It is now interesting to walk on those concretized road of the village--people are now eager to exercise in the morning or to walk their dogs in the highway thru the woods.

It's so great to see people using the road now to hop on the next village for a disco sometimes (except me ofc)

But sad to say it is not made for the farmers.

It was made for the greedy town official who owns majority of the town's farm and resorts.

The road wasn't really created for the farmers like it stated, the road was so far from their farms and it is not a farm-to-market-road but rather a FARM TO POCKET ROAD.

The promised road to farmers remained a promise.

The equipment for the construction belonged to a said town official, they got a pay per hour everytime their equipment was used.

Apart from a percentage the town official will receive everytime a big project is made in the town, the sand and gravel that was used for construction was free, it was taken from the river next to our village.

Sad to say this happened to us farmers in a rural agricultural town.

The road is strategically located to the politician's hectares of coconut and rice farm including a one resort.

It is their own farm-to-market road which will make their farm accessible while making money also to the road's construction.

A great example of corruption in the guise of helping the farmers which benefits the greedy by using the government's money---and this is not their only FARM-TO-POCKET-ROAD.

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ABOUT ME

@janesuiren is an introverted night owl who enjoys coffee a lot. An otaku and a foodie, she also lives inside the stories she dreams to publish one day. You can catch her admiring her rainy and picturesque hometown in Western Leyte, Philippines.

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