Free irrigation

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EDITORIAL
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February 15, 2018
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THE Free Irrigation Services Act, which became a law on Feb. 2, effectively subsidizes irrigation for local farmers who pay for the service through the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

We welcome this move of making free irrigation a reality for our farmers. With this law in place, NIA will no longer collect irrigation fees from them. This will hopefully translate to more money in farmers’ pockets. They need all the help they can get if we are to achieve our potential as an agricultural juggernaut in Asia. NIA said the country has about 10.3 million hectares of agricultural lands. Out of this figure, around 3.1 million hectares are considered irrigable. Nonetheless, the lack of irrigation has been a longstanding problem for farmers for a variety of reasons.

The Act resulted from the harmonization of Senate Bill (SB) No.1465 or the Free Irrigation Service to Small Farmers Act of 2017 and House Bill (HB) No. 5670 or the Free Irrigation Services Act. The new law should jumpstart the modernization of Philippine agriculture and, more importantly, unlock endless earning opportunities for our farmers. Irrigation services are integral in maintaining our lands fertile and producing bountiful harvest.

While the local agriculture sector has always been robust, it continues to be hampered growth-wise by low productivity.  In fact, a 2016 study of Dutch multinational banking and financial services firm Rabobank bared that the Philippines is a net importer of agricultural products, meaning it imports more products (an average of $8.6 billion annually) than it exports ($6 billion). The Rabobank study also said that the Philippine agricultural sector accounted for 11.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product and employed 30.4 percent of the population in 2014. Coconut oil and bananas were cited as the country’s two strongest products, being the world’s biggest exporter for the former and second-biggest exporter for the latter.

We can turn around our farmers’ productions levels through democratized irrigation since it helps crops flourish. The next step is enhancing productivity by tapping new technology. With this strengthened support for our farmers, we signify the importance of their role to provide sustenance and nutrition to all Filipinos and their capacity to lead our country towards a food-secure future.
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