By Kenneth Marcos 
Slipping on muddy rural roads, farmers often worry if the promised new routes will ever reach the fields. Now, the Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to change that. On December 8, 2025, DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the creation of a new watchdog unit to oversee all major agriculture-infrastructure projects, especially farm-to-market roads (FMRs), starting next year.
The watchdog — called the Interim Social and Environmental Safeguards (SES) Unit — will help ensure that every road, cold storage facility, and agro-project the DA handles meets high standards for transparency, social fairness, and environmental safety. The agency said the move comes after controversies over overpriced and possibly suspect infrastructure under the previous agency in charge.
DA will take back control of FMR construction from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) starting 2026. Under the old system, many rural roads — vital lifelines for farmers — either were delayed, overpriced, or never got built. The change aims to give farmers hope that promised roads will truly reach their farms and communities.
To give a sense of the challenge: the national roadmap calls for 131,000 kilometers of rural roads. But over 60,000 kilometers remain unbuilt — more than half of what’s planned. These roads matter: they reduce the cost of hauling crops, prevent produce spoilage, and speed up access to markets.
DA says the SES watchdog will embed safeguards across the entire department — from central offices to regional units. It will use tools developed under previous World-Bank supported rural programs: environmental audits, social-impact reviews, and consultations with local communities. The goal: avoid past mistakes, protect the environment, and keep public funds from disappearing along the way.
Secretary Tiu Laurel asked farmers, local governments and citizens to stay alert. To help, DA plans to launch a new “FMR Watch” portal where anyone can upload photos from construction sites, check project status, and flag delays — kind of like community oversight.
The watchdog and public-monitoring drive mark a fresh commitment to rebuild trust in infrastructure projects — especially in the countryside where reliable roads can transform humble farms into steady livelihoods.
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