NextGen Day

A party-list senator encouraged the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to fix and upgrade non-operational irrigation systems to lessen the strain on farmers and boost their output and income.

AGRI Rep. Wilbert Lee emphasized the gravity of the situation and suggested that NIA should take immediate action during his interpellation on the DA’s proposed budget for 2023 on Wednesday evening.

He did this after seeing that the farmers were not receiving better irrigation services despite the organization receiving billions of dollars in funding over the past few years.

As I travel the nation, farmers frequently complain to me in Filipino about irrigation systems that have been idle ever since they were constructed and handed over.

To help the farmers right away, according to Lee, funding should be spent to fix and renovate outdated irrigation systems rather than developing new ones.

In Oas, Albay, and Libmanan, Camarines Sur, Lee highlighted several irrigation systems that farmers who they impacted had alerted him about. These farmers viewed these malfunctioning projects as “wastes of taxpayer’s money.”

Farmers in Oas, Albay, expressed dissatisfaction with Brgy’s irrigation system. Talongog, which has been idle since its conversion in 2017.

The MADABAST Agri Coop also voiced its displeasure with several irrigation systems, such as the one in Barangay San Pablo, Libmanan, Camarines Sur, which has provided no benefit since it was built eight years ago.

Lee raised these grievances while questioning NIA director Benny Antiporda on the projected DA budget. Lee personally delivered and forwarded them to Antiporda.

The number of unsuccessful initiatives and the sums impacted is startling; it has been revealed to me. Lee added that we would hopefully no longer see these inefficiencies under the NIA’s new head.

If we cannot offer irrigation services to our farmers, he continued, we will be unable to meet the President’s aspirational goals for the agricultural sector.

NIA is a department of the DA, which is concurrently led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“Funds designated for irrigation should be used to help farmers and advance agriculture. We all win when farmers succeed because consumers also succeed, added Lee.

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