THIS week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed to intensify efforts to improve irrigation systems and expand agricultural support programs nationwide.
The country’s irrigation system, managed by the National Irrigation Administration, aims to irrigate 3.1 million hectares of agricultural land, with 65.28 percent currently developed for irrigation, including national, communal, and private systems.
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
But the President has spoken, and many – those at the inauguration of the Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative Grains Terminal and Trading Project in Batangas City – and beyond the area must have had bullish gratitude, particularly that scorching summer is on the farmers’ front yard.
Against the challenges posed by the country’s irrigation system, some buoyant feeling must have lifted up the farmers and their families to have heard the President reiterate the government’s commitment to enhance irrigation infrastructure, which he said is crucial to increasing agricultural productivity.
“We will intensify projects that will improve irrigation and water supply to be used at pump stations for more efficient and effective water flow to the fields,” the President said in Filipino, adding the government is allocating funds for the establishment of key agricultural facilities like warehouses and rice and corn mills.
Farmers and their families and plain observers heard the President assure the public that the government would do everything in its power to ensure the success of these initiatives, adding his government plans to introduce more modern technologies to further foster production and address challenges in the agricultural sector.
What are these challenges?
They include under-performance, poor maintenance, and water scarcity, issues which impact on the agriculture sector and food security.
Their causes range from underdevelopment to mismanagement to environmental degradation, climate change, deforestation, and soil degradation – they have harmed the sustainability of irrigation systems – siltation to flooding to salinity, institutional and policy issues, which include conflicts among users and water delivery scheduling.
But there are solutions available, like improving maintenance and rehabilitation, improving watershed management, monitoring and enforcing policies, considering extreme weather conditions and exploring more efficient water management.
With the same decibel as the President’s vow was his emphasis on the need to provide farmers with the necessary support to facilitate the efficient delivery of their farm produce to the market.
Farmers cling to the President’s pledge.