TACLOBAN CITY, Jan. 24 (PNA) –- The National Irrigation
Administration (NIA) came up with guidelines for the “official implementation”
of free irrigation in the country this year.
The NIA board, chaired by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio
Evasco, has approved the rules for the program during its board meeting in this
city on Tuesday.
NIA Administrator Peter Laviña said that with the
PHP2 billion budget allocation this year for the operation of their agency,
they are offering irrigation services for free to individual rice farmers.
Under the free irrigation program, the said
additional allocation on the budget of NIA is intended for the salaries of its
workers previously taken from service fees.
“NIA will now stop the collection of irrigation
service fees, but corporate farms are not included such as plantations,” Laviña
told reporters after its board meeting.
To ensure maintenance of irrigation systems, NIA
will give financial assistance to 8,100 irrigators association in the country.
Since the support is minimal, the group is authorized to collect membership or maintenance
fees from their members.
“The responsibility to maintain the canals should
rest on farmers. They will be the one to agree on the contributions,” he added.
Laviña said they have to “inculcate shared
responsibility” on the maintenance of canals during the implementation of free
irrigation to minimize its impact to the government’s rice sufficiency drive.
A farmer pays the amount of service fee equivalent
to two sacks of unhusked rice per hectare in every cropping season.
The government has been collecting less than PHP2
billion from irrigation service fees every year, but its accumulated
collectibles has already reached PHP13 billion.
Laviña said that the amount has to be paid by
farmers despite pending bills in Congress to condone outstanding accounts.
“We have to collect because it would be unfair for
our small farmers who have already settled their accounts,” he added.
LAP/SARWELL Q. MENIANO
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