The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Wednesday said it expanded the country’s irrigation development by 311,265 hectares to 2.042 million hectares at the end of the term of President Duterte.
NIA Administrator Ricardo R. Visaya claimed that the expansion made under the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2021 was the highest in the NIA’s history.
From 2016 to 2021, NIA’s irrigation development averaged at 51,877.5 hectares, faster than the 31,865.16 hectares recorded during the Aquino administration, covering the years 2010 to 2015, based on historical data.
The country’s irrigation development status at the end of 2021 is now at 65.28 percent out of the 3.128 million hectares of estimated total irrigable area nationwide.
NIA data showed that the national irrigation system remained the major provider of irrigation as it serviced 955,653.79 hectares while those under the communal irrigation system were estimated at 737,402.32 hectares.
NIA data also showed that the private irrigation system as of end-2021 services a total of 180,501.21 hectares while 168,835.34 hectares are serviced by other government agencies.
Visaya said various irrigation projects were completed during Duterte’s term such as the “P631-million Barbar Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) in Ilocos Sur, benefiting 1,156 farmers, the P645-million Benliw SRIP in Bohol, covering 400 hectares of agricultural land, and the P1.391-billion Upper Malitubog Service Area in North Cotabato, benefiting 2,004 farmers and their families.”
Visaya added that the country currently has 10,401 irrigation systems nationwide.
“NIA pursued to optimize dams not just for irrigation purposes but also for agro-tourism, aquaculture, and hydroelectric power generation. On the Solar-Powered Irrigation Project, NIA has 333 solar-powered irrigation projects nationwide with an aggregate cost of P1.517 billion,” he said in a statement.
“These projects can generate up to 4,214.33 horsepower and irrigate 6,482.62 hectares of agricultural land, benefitting 8,467 farmers and their families.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said as of December 2021 about 1.033 million farmers tilling 1.189 million hectares of agricultural land benefited from the government’s free irrigation program. Duterte signed into law the Free Irrigation Service Act or Republic Act 10969 last 2018.
Visaya said the NIA, now an attached agency of the DA, will continue to fulfill its mandate by developing, constructing, operating and maintaining irrigation systems nationwide, especially with the “devolution of Communal Irrigation Systems to the local government units.”
“With the transition to the next administration, NIA has ongoing Infrastructure Flagship Projects under the ‘Build Build Build’ program of the government that are targeted for completion such as the P4.372-billion Chico River Pump Irrigation Project in Kalinga to be inaugurated this June 25, 2022, the P11.21-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project-Stage II in Iloilo, and the P5.444-billion Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project – Stage II in North Cotabato.”
For 2022, the NIA aims to develop 24,462 hectares of new irrigation areas while restoring irrigation to an additional 12,356 hectares of land. This year, NIA has a total budget of P32.468 billion of which P22.646 billion is being used for its irrigation systems development and restoration programs.
Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/06/02/nia-projects-expanded-phls-irrigated-areas/
