Farmers manage 80% of rural road levy, repairing 200 kilometers a month and buying machinery and trucks

For years, farmers in Magdalena wanted to know how much the municipality collected through the rural road levy and how much actually reached roads they said were never repaired. Eventually, they changed their demand. Instead of only asking the authorities to fix the roads, they sought a direct role in managing the money.

“In the countryside, we always calculated how much the municipality collected from the rural road levy. We figured that with that money and the machinery we could obtain, farmers could carry out the maintenance work,” said José Miguel Vergara, treasurer of Magdalena’s Commission for Rural Services, known as CASER.

The request resurfaced under several municipal administrations. Members of the Magdalena Rural Society then visited other districts, including Benito Juárez, Tandil and General Madariaga, to study public-private participation schemes already in operation.

They found an opening under Mayor Lisandro Hourcade. In July 2025, the local council approved Ordinance 4334/25, creating CASER. The commission formally began work on Feb. 2, 2026, with 18 members representing farmers, the Rural Society, municipal officials, the local council, road users and the education council. Everyone serves without pay.

Farmers in Magdalena pay the equivalent of four liters of diesel per hectare each year. The municipality collected between 1.1 billion and 1.2 billion pesos in 2025. Under the ordinance, 80% of the amount actually collected through the rural general services levy is earmarked for the rural road network and placed under CASER’s administration.

The money still moves through municipal administrative channels, but CASER helps set priorities, plan projects and monitor the work. It also took responsibility for the staff and machinery used to maintain the network. The commission says it has repaired two Liu Gong machines that had only 300 hours of use but serious defects, and now has one machine for each local sector.

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In the countryside, we always calculated how much the municipality collected from the rural road levy. We figured that with that money and the machinery we could obtain, farmers could carry out the maintenance work.