EDITORIAL

D.A. Completing 21 Priority
Irrigation Projects

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is completing 21 priority irrigation projects in strategically located sites of the Philippines in line with the government’s goal to attain food security, sufficiency, and to raise the farmers’ income by providing efficient irrigation system to their farms.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is implementing these projects, identified seven projects in Luzon, six in the Visayas, seven in Mindanao , and small re-servoir projects nationwide.

In a report to DA Secretary Arthur Yap, NIA administrator Carlos Salazar said these ongoing projects that were laid out by President Arroyo in her 2006 State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) include the Banaoag Pump Irrigation Project in Ilocos Sur; Agno River Irrigation Project in Pangasinan; Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project and the Aulo Small Reservoir Irrigation Project, both in Nueva Ecija.

The other SONA-identified projects are the Addalam River Irrigation Project in Quirino; Libmanan-Cabusao Irrigation Project in Camarines Sur; Balog-Balog Multipurpose Project in Tarlac; Bago River Irrigation System and Rehabilitation and Improvement Project in Negros Occidental; Bohol II Irrigation Project in Bohol; Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Project in Northern Samar; Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project for Regions 6, 7 and 13; and the Dolores Irrigation Project in Eastern Samar; Basey Irrigation Project in Western Samar.

Also in the priority list of SONA-identified projects are the Balingasag Irrigation Project in Misamis Oriental; Talakag Irrigation Project in Bukidnon; Sta. Josefa Pump Irrigation Project in Agusan del Sur; Malaig River Irrigation Project in Lanao del Sur; Rugnan River Irrigation Project also in Lanao del Sur; Kabulnan II Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project in Sultan Kudarat; Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project Stage 2 in Maguindanao; and the Small Reservoir Irrigation Projects, which are being implemented nationwide.

Yap said that focusing on irrigation and other rural infrastructures had already yielded positive results with palay production expanding by 5.1 percent or double its average growth a year ago. The NIA’s rehabilitation and restoration work has allowed farmers to plant an additional 69,000 hectares of farmland or 5.7 percent more than last year.

"Such gains are the result of the President’s increased spending on agriculture– P25.36 billion in 2007; P36.55 billion in 2008; and P46.86 billion this year," Yap said.

Presidential economic adviser and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda has recommended that the government pour more "stimulus funds" into Philippine agriculture, particularly into irrigation, to sustain the sector’s resilience and its status as a primary growth driver even in the midst of a global financial contagion.

He directed NIA to give priority to dys-functional existing irrigation systems, especially the restoration and rehabi-litation of facilities, rather than starting new projects as this strategy has an immediate impact on the potential farmer-beneficiaries and will prove to be more cost-effective in the long run.

According to him, NIA is expected to vigorously pursue the restoration and rehabilitation of inactive irrigation service areas, both national and communal, and spear-head the completion of several big-ticket foreign- assisted projects.

On the rehabilitation and restoration of existing irrigation systems, the NIA is targeting an area covering a total of 368,000 hectares under a program being imple-mented till 2010 under President Arroyo’s FIELDS program.

FIELDS, enumerates the six areas where government support is being focused under the government’s food security and sufficiency agenda, stands for Fertilizers, Irrigation and other rural infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, extension services and education for farmers, loans, dryers and other post harvest facilities, seeds and other genetic materials.

NIA has so far rehabilitated 103,568 hectares existing com-munal and national irrigation systems and restored 122,909 hectares since 2006 using funds it has received totalling P7.27 billion.

For 2009, the government has allocated P8 billion to NIA to restore facilities servicing 133,000 hectares and rehabilitate those covering 68,000 hectares.

Salazar said that besides rehabilitating and restoring irrigation systems, the agency is also implementing a three-step approach to increase cropping intensity, which means increasing irrigated areas of farmlands.

This approach involves 1) the quick turnaround (QTA) program. This encourages farmers to plant three times a year or adding one more in between the regular dry and wet season crops; 2) adoption of water management practices to maximize the available water supply; and 3) organization and development of farmer-beneficiaries to increase their capability to manage and operate irrigation systems.

But what is the irrigation project of NIA in Aklan included in this multi billion irrigation program? /MP