FEB 22, 2016

NR # 4118B

NIA urged to waive irrigation service fees to Cotabato farmers

A lawmaker is urging the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to waive the irrigation
service fees (ISF) to be paid by the farmers in the province of Cotabato.
Rep. Jose I. Tejada (3rd District, North Cotabato) said in House Resolution 2656 that the
province was identified by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAG-ASA) as one of the provinces with the highest El Nio vulnerability for rice
crop.
The current weather pattern in the Philippines reinforce the announcement of PAG-ASA that
a strong El Nio event is already taking place, affecting the dry season rice crop, Tejada said.
Tejada said the on-going strong El Nio condition was at its peak during the NovemberDecember-January 2015/2016 planting season and may continue up to the May-June-July 2016
planting season.
The Mindanao solon cited the warning raised by the International Rice research Institute
(IRRI) over food security in the country as the El Nio phenomenon wreaks havoc across the vast
agricultural areas, leaving staple crops such as rice dying in parched earth.
Tejada said based on the assessment and conveyed in a January 2016 report by the Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), the El Nio occurrence damaged
7,216.06 hectares or 36,683.47 metric tons (MT) or rice crop.
The report further stated that the damage affected 9,061 farmers and incurred a total loss of
172,193,221.95 pesos, with the additional burden of the occurrence of drought-triggered infestation
and disease, Tejada said.
According to Tejada, the Office of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the Province of
Cotabato issued Resolution No. 014 on January 19, 2016 declaring the Province of Cotabato under a
State of Calamity due to the occurrence of drought and rat infestation.
Tejada said Cotabato has been identified as one of the top ten rice producing provinces in the
Philippines in the past 10 years by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, contributing a yield of
530,029 MT or 2.79 percent of the nations produce of 18,967,826 MT in 2014.
He said the local government units (LGUs) moved to save the remaining crops by bringing in
additional irrigation pumps and seeding clouds to induce rain.
Based on the current situation of the farmers in the province, the farmers and their families
deserve relief from their situation, Tejada said.
Tejada said the widespread effect of the El Nio occurrence is considered a general calamity
beyond the control of the farmers that waiver in the payment of irrigation fees should be favorably
considered. (30) mvip