By Genalyn D. Kabiling
President Duterte has signed a landmark law providing free irrigation services to small farmers in the country.
Under Republic Act No. 10969, farmers with landholdings of eight hectares and below are exempted from paying irrigation service fees for water derived from both national and communal irrigation systems.
The law, also known as the Free Irrigation Service Act, has also condoned loans and past due accounts of these small farmers and irrigators associations to the National Irrigation Administration.
“The State shall also ensure that vital support services are made available, particularly irrigation service, through the continued construction, repair, and maintenance of necessary irrigation facilities, to increase production of agricultural crops, encourage productivity, and increase the incomes of farmers,” the law said.
“Towards this end, the State affirms its commitment to contribute to the lowering of the cost of production through the provision of free irrigation service, and further relieve the farmers and their irrigators associations from the burden and consequence of unpaid irrigation service fees,” it added.
RA 10969 also states that the NIA would continue to develop, operate, and maintain national irrigation systems. It, however, may delegate the operation and maintenance of secondary and tertiary canals and farm ditches to capable irrigator groups.
The communal irrigation systems will still be operated and maintained by irrigators associations.
