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NIA: Convergence, P200-B funding to boost agri landscapes

By Stephanie Sevillano

February 28, 2023, 7:54 pm

<p><strong>CONVERGENCE</strong>. Irrigation Administrator Engr. Eddie Guillen delivers updates on irrigation plans for the country in a Palace briefing on Tuesday (Feb. 28, 2023). Guillen said they were instructed to pursue convergence between government agencies to achieve agricultural targets that are beneficial to the economy. <em>(Screengrab)</em></p>

CONVERGENCE. Irrigation Administrator Engr. Eddie Guillen delivers updates on irrigation plans for the country in a Palace briefing on Tuesday (Feb. 28, 2023). Guillen said they were instructed to pursue convergence between government agencies to achieve agricultural targets that are beneficial to the economy. (Screengrab)

MANILA – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Tuesday underscored the need for interagency convergence and annual funding of PHP200 billion for dam projects nationwide to boost the country’s agricultural landscapes.

In a Palace briefing, NIA Administrator Engr. Eddie Guillen said such investment in dams will produce a good return for the economy, apart from poverty reduction through food security targets.

Kung mag-invest ang ating gobyerno ng worth PHP200 billion na projects sa ating mga dam per year, sa anim na taon ho na pamumuno ng ating pangulo ay malaki ho ang pagbabago ng agricultural landscape natin (If the government invest PHP200 billion worth of dam projects per year, in six years, under President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.), there will be a significant change in the country’s agricultural landscape),” he said.

Guillen said these projects will not only benefit the irrigation sector but may also be maximized as a power source.

He said dams may be also used for flood control projects, venues for aquaculture and tourism and even hold solar panels.

Guillen said NIA does not need to come up with huge budget since it was directed to work with other agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“‘Yung ating pangulo, Ilocano, kaya kuripot, gusto niya lang ma-maximize ‘yung pondo. Hindi ho ito panibagong pondo o palalakihin ang pondo (Our president is Ilocano, that’s why he’s thrifty, he wants to maximize the fund. This is not a new fund nor an increase in budget),” he said.

Ang gusto ng ating pangulo, i-harmonize niya ‘yung budget para po magamit nang husto ‘yung pera ng gobyerno at talagang makakapagbigay po ito ng serbisyo sa ating mamamayan (The president wants to harmonize the budget so that the government fund may be maximized and truly provide service to Filipinos),” he added.

Meanwhile, the NIA shall be presenting projects that may be used in the flood mitigation projects of the DPWH, which will be supported by the former’s feasibility studies.

So ituturo namin saan ba kami may kapaki-pakinabang na project diyan. O itong design namin na ito may project plan na ito, pwede bang i-implement ng public works? Bibigay namin sa public works ‘yung kaya po nila (So we will identify beneficial projects. This design with a project plan, can it be implemented by the public works? We will give it to the public works if they can implement these),” he said.

Yung parochial thinking kasi ng agencies na kanya-kanya, gusto niya itong i-breach. Siyempre gusto niya itong pagsama-samahin, dapat mayroong cooperation, may convergence effort para yung implementation, mas makatipid tayo at mas makabuluhan (The parochial thinking of agencies of being individualistic, the president wants to breach this. Of course, he wants to unite, there should be cooperation, convergence and effort to implement so we could save more and be more essential),” he added.

This approach was made clearer during President Marcos’ sectoral meeting with the NIA, DPWH, Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Technical Education and Skills Training Authority (TESDA), National Food Authority (NFA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) and National Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development (NCISRD).

Eliminating middlemen

Besides convergence, the NIA also underscored the administration’s desire to include farmers in the entire process of the agricultural value chain, as it eliminates middlemen.

“The president wants that in the whole value chain of rice, farmers will have a part in the processing and marketing because he wants the farmers to capture the value-added in their products,” Guillen said in mixed English and Filipino.

Under this set-up, the NIA will form cooperatives from irrigators associations in each town so it can coordinate with farmers, especially in the provision of needed farm inputs, machinery and equipment for processing.

To further alleviate the country’s poverty incidence and achieve food security, the NIA said President Marcos wants to pursue a “climate-smart” approach to food production.

The NIA targets to release water for irrigation by April or May so farmers can secure their yield by September.

To date, the country has around 1.5 to 2 million hectares of irrigated land, it said. (PNA)

 

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