Free irrigation in 2017 ‘initial victory’ for farmers—KMP
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) on Thursday welcomed the allocation of P2 billion in the recently signed P3.35-trillion national budget for irrigation fee subsidy, saying they will make sure that there will be no more collection of irrigation service fees next year.
“Free irrigation in 2017 is a significant result of farmers’ decades of assertion and struggle for free irrigation. It’s actually long overdue,” KMP secretary general Antonio Flores said in a statement.
READ: Free irrigation among Duterte’s ‘top achievements’ in first 100 days
“We claim this as an initial victory for farmers. Farmers and irrigators associations have launched a nationwide campaign for free irrigation and formed the Pambansang Ugnayan para sa Libreng Irigasyon at Patubig or PATUBIG to assert free irrigation services. Free irrigation is a necessary government support service to genuinely develop agriculture and foster rural development,” he added.
The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) was allotted a total of P38.4 billion in the 2017 national budget that President Rodrigo Duterte signed on Thursday to fulfill his campaign promise of free irrigation for farmers. This was also for the construction of new irrigation systems and restoration and rehabilitation of existing facilities.
READ: Duterte signs P3.35-T nat’l budget for 2017
Data from the NIA showed that P1.8 billion to P2 billion in irrigation service fees are being collected yearly.
Flores said they are expecting the NIA to issue operating guidelines and memorandum circular on free irrigation “in the soonest possible time.”
The peasant group added that they will demand the permanent abolition of irrigation service fees (ISF) and the condonation of unpaid bank accounts of farmers and irrigators associations “that have incurred millions in debt to NIA.”
“Additional budget for NIA will relieve farmers from paying irrigation services fees, which is among the highest in Asia… NIA should also make significant efforts to improve their services,” Flores said.
“Free irrigation will help reduce the production cost shouldered by farmers. An accelerated irrigation program is also necessary to increase the productivity and annual yield of farmers,” he added. RAM
