Govt eyes 32 new tramlines this year

At least 32 new agricultural tramline systems (ATS) will be built in various areas nationwide this year as part of the government's efforts to help raise farmers' incomes through lower transportation cost and less post-harvest loss. The new tramline systems, which are due for completion by August this year, will be built in mountanious and hilly farming communities, according to the Philippine Center for Post Harvest and Mechanization (Philmech). These areas include those in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), central Luzon, and Cagayan Valley. A P96 million budget has been allotted for the project by the Department of Agriculture, Philmech said, noting each kilometer of the tramlines cost around P3 million. An ATS usually stretches from 800 meters to one kilometer and has a capacity to transport between 350 to 500 kilograms of goods. The project, which was started last year, aims to lower the transportation cost of high value crops and other farm goods and reduce the average post-harvest loss rate to only five percent from a high of 25 percent. Philmech executive director Rex Bingabing said that in areas where there are already existing tramline systems, farmers have expanded their production areas. He added that the construction of tramlines in some areas have also contributed to the socio-economic well-being of households because of higher incomes. A total of 97 ATS have been completed from 2009 to 2011 at a cost of P2 million per kilometer. These were also primarily intended for the transport of farm produce but have also been used to transport people and various commodities. Bingabing said that the new tramlines, which will be more expensive to built, will be of higher quality that those previosuly built. — KBK, GMA News