DAVAO ORIENTAL — The massive road rehabilitation efforts in the different barangays across the province of Davao Oriental are now in full swing.

The teams of heavy and light equipment operators, along with their bulldozers, graders, rollers, and other heavy machinery, have been deployed to these villages with roads that are in poor condition.

Across the province, the deployed operators are busy working around the clock, hoping to complete the repair and rehabilitation of the roads before the rainy season arrives.

The massive operation is being implemented under the Oplan Kalsada, one of the anti-poverty programs of the provincial government supporting the agriculture and tourism sectors.

This program is part of Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon’s commitment to farmers and residents to give them respite and ease their burden in transporting people to the town center and their crops to the market.

Davao Oriental, a highly agricultural province, is home to thousands of farmers who depend on good roads for their daily lives. For these farmers, roads are crucial for their livelihood, enabling them to provide for their families.

While agricultural productivity has long been recognized as a primary economic driver and a means to reduce poverty, the provincial government has been investing in rehabilitating rural roads in barangays and sitios leading to main towns and market centers.

Through the Oplan Kalsada, the provincial government hopes to lower the cost of transporting people and products. This is highly needed so that people, especially the farmers in hinterland villages, will not have difficulty transporting their products and goods to the market.

For the farmers and residents, the Oplan Kalsada offers them new hope as they feel that the government truly cares about their plight.

Aside from agriculture, these roads will provide respite in transporting sick residents to the hospital and students who go to school. By Karen Lou Deloso | Photos by Mark Oliver Alvite