Senator JV Ejercito lauded the passage of Republic Act 10969 or the Free Irrigation Services Act, saying access to free irrigation would vastly improve the livelihood of poor Filipino farmers.
Ejercito, author of Senate Bill No. 1199 or the Free irrigation Services Act, said the law would boost the harvest of farmers, which would mean more income for them.
In addition, RA 10969 would also reduce the “out of pocket” production expenses of farmers, said Ejercito who also described the law as a “crucial reform in the agricultural sector.”
“This is surely one of the crucial reforms in the agricultural sector. As one of the proponents of this measure, I laud the signing of RA 10969 granting free irrigation to farmers owning not more than 8 hectares of land,” Ejercito said in a statement on Friday.
“Our desire is to unburden our poor farmers from paying irrigation service fees. The law condones all unpaid irrigation fees and penalties of farmers who till the same size of land,” he added.
The law also condones all loans, past due accounts and the corresponding interests and penalties of irrigation associations, Ejercito said
“Some of the poorest of the poor in our society are from the agricultural sector. I hope this law helps them out of poverty and as a result contribute to sustaining our economic growth,” he added.
READ: Duterte signs Free Irrigation Service Act
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the bill into law on February 2. Access to free irrigation for farmers was one of the President’s campaign promises. /muf