Mainit, Surigao del Norte – President Arroyo said that food security, through agriculture and good infrastructure such as roads, is the key to development and progress.

Mrs. Arroyo stressed that the completion of the Surigao-Davao Coastal Road will lift from the bondage of poverty poor residents in the area and will also answer the very needs of the farmers and businessmen that will surely make the full development and economic prosperity of Surigao and nearby areas.

She vowed to “liberate” Surigao from poverty by improving the productivity and income of farmers and opening markets through ports and other vital infrastructures.

President Arroyo inaugurated the new P50-million Socorro Feeder Port in Socorro town, this province on Tuesday. She also inspected the ongoing ground works of the remaining 15 kilometers of the Lingig (Surigao del Sur)-Boston (Davao Oriental) Road which is set to be completed by June which also coincides with the end of her term.

Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur are both part of Agribusiness Mindanao of five super regions mapped out by the Arroyo administration in 2006 to spur the southern island’s economic development.

She pointed out that agriculture and good infrastructure are both vital components in development and progress.

“We must make sure that everyday, we can have all what we need, we want peace that will bring prosperity and hope to every man and woman and children of Mindanao,” she said.

As this developed, Mrs. Arroyo encouraged local leaders to be more aggressive in agri-business to beef up the region’s productivity and more innovative programs to fulfill Mindanao’s aim to be the “food basket” in the country.