Gov’t urged to condone PHP13-B irrigation service fees

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged the government to condone the PHP13 billion irrigation service fees (ISFs) owed by underprivileged individual farmers and farming cooperatives to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) to relieve them of financial strain. (Photo: Senator Win Gatchalian/Facebook)

MANILA—Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged the government to condone the PHP13 billion irrigation service fees (ISFs) owed by underprivileged individual farmers and farming cooperatives to the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) to relieve them of financial strain.

Gatchalian, in a statement said farmers are burdened by “unfair debts” and that they should be helped.

He pointed out that the ISFs collected by NIA further cut the already “meager” monthly income of small farmers.

The neophyte senator earlier filed Senate Bill No. 1412 which proposes the repeal of the NIA provision authorizing the agency to collect irrigation fees from users.

“Irrigation is a key factor in increasing agricultural productivity, rice sufficiency and food security. It should be the obligation of the State to provide free irrigation services,” Gatchalian said in his measure.

Gatchalian said ISF should be stopped since a PHP2 billion subsidy in irrigation fees has been added to the 2017 budget of the NIA to cover the fees to be collected this year.

The average ISF rate charged to farmers during the dry season is three cavans per hectare per year times the prevailing National Food Authority (NFA) price for rice per kilo, and 2.5 cavans per hectare per hear during the wet season.

The NIA collects the ISFs for yields of 40 cavans and above. The fund is used to cover the cost of operation and maintenance and to recover the cost of construction of irrigation systems nationwide.

“This intervention in the 2017 GAA is now paving the way for free irrigation services to Filipino farmers,” he said.