2017, May

-Despite warnings from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), some residents still dry their palay or corn crops along national and barangay roads. This harvest season, drying palay and corn along the highway is a common sight in Ilocos province and its neighboring provinces of Ilocos Sur, Cagayan and Isabela. In the absence of communal solar dryers, some farmers take advantage of the weather to dry their crops along the road. According to farmers, it is more practical to dry their crops on public roads and sell it right away to passing traders once the crops are dried up. To avoid road accidents, DPWH officials has reiterated to farmers and traders to refrain from drying palay or corn along the highway. The DPWH have widened a number of major arterial roads nationwide to facilitate the smooth flow of traffic and not to be used as solar dryers for agricultural crops.