Manila, Dec. 11 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) is aiming to construct more farm-to-market roads (FMR) across Mindanao to boost the agricultural industry in the region.

The department on Thursday said it is ready to fully take over the program's implementation by 2026.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement, that the new roads will focus on "chronically underutilized" food production areas, including a proposed PHP2-billion road in Sultan Kudarat that could unlock 32,000 to 35,000 hectares of farmland, and parts of Liguasan Marsh with up to 300,000 hectares of recoverable land.

"Once we build it, like now, we want to put PHP2 billion into a single road in Sultan Kudarat that will open up 32,000 to 35,0...