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THE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) spent P3.126 billion in
2007 to restore and rehabilitate irrigation facilities servicing
96,209 hectares of farmlands.
In a report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap,
Irrigation Administrator Marcelino Tugaoen Jr. said the restored
irrigation facilities now service 55,000 hectares, while the
rehabilitated systems cover another 41,209 hectares.
Yap said that the total area rehabilitated or
restored by the NIA represent a 100-percent accomplishment rate for
the agency.
“The P3-billion allocation by the Arroyo
administration for rural infrastructure last year was the first time
ever that the Department was able to spend so much on irrigation,”
Yap said.
Under the 2007 national budget, the total
allocation for irrigation amounted to P9.419 billion, including
foreign-assisted projects totaling P5.497 billion and locally-funded
projects amounting to P1.903 billion. The balance of P2.019 billion
came from other sources.
Tugaoen said that higher spending on the
construction, repair and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities in
key palay-producing areas is a crucial element of the government’s
goal to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2010, raise farmers’
incomes, and make the staple cheaper for low-income consumers.
Yap pointed out that the higher spending on
irrigation and other rural infrastructure is part of the five-point
program of the Agriculture department to boost productivity and make
farming and fishing much more profitable, especially for small
stakeholders.
This five-point program also includes increased
spending on post-harvest facilities, research and development and
extension work, expanding access to rural credit and opening more
markets here and overseas for Philippine farm produce.
Tugaoen explained that bigger investments in
irrigation would not only help attain rice self-sufficiency but
would also boost yields for other farm produce. The irrigation
agency in some cases introduces crops for planting other than palay,
during the second cropping season.
The country has 1.413 million hectares of
irrigated lands, of which 695,774 hectares are serviced by national
irrigation systems.
-- Ira Karen Apanay
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