Press Release
April 5, 2016

CHIZ WANTS TOTAL BAN ON CONVERSION
OF IRRIGATED LANDS

If elected vice-president, Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero said he will push for a total ban on conversion of all irrigated and irrigable lands to residential, commercial and industrial use to protect the country's prime agricultural lands and help sustain food security.

Escudero said the ban would make sure that farmers will continue to have access to irrigated farmlands, along with other support services and subsidies, to enable them to produce enough food to feed the population.

"Kailangang maging istrikto ang pamahalaan pagdating sa land conversion para siguradong may matataniman ang ating mga kababayan," he said.

The veteran lawmaker pointed out that "massive land conversion for non-agricultural uses has been one of the key factors for food insecurity and rising costs of basic commodities in recent years."

He lamented that a number of agricultural lands critical to food production have been transformed into subdivisions, commercial centers, golf courses and export processing zones, among others.

Apart from imposing a ban on conversion of farmlands for other purposes, Escudero said the "Gobyernong may Puso" headed by his presidential running mate, Sen. Grace Poe, will expand the country's irrigated lands by 100,000 hectares every year.

Data from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) showed that there are 1.7 million hectares of irrigated lands in the country as of 2014, but the figure is still 1.3 million short of the 3 million estimated total irrigable areas identified by the agency.

The "Gobyernong may Puso" intends to allot 10 percent of the annual budget or at least P300 billion to the agriculture sector, which hosts 60 percent of the nation's poorest, to increase the income of farmers and boost food production.

Escudero has been pushing for the abolition of the irrigation service fees (ISFs), which NIA collects from farmers to sustain the operation of the agency, in order to help farmers cope with rising production costs, particularly during periods of drought.

"Bakit nga ba tuwing gumagawa ng kalye ang gobyerno ay hindi naman nagbabayad ang mayayaman pero ang mga magsasaka nagbabayad pa rin sa kanilang irigasyon?" he asked.

According to the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, NIA has received a substantial budget infusion since 2013, jumping 19-fold to P32.7 billion this year, and as such, can very well fund the operation of the government-built irrigation facilities sans the ISFs.

Farmers pay an estimated average ISF of P4,500 per hectare a year, which is equivalent to five cavans of palay. The NIA collects the ISFs for yields with 40 cavans and above.

The rate is based on the prevailing National Food Authority support price for rice which is P17 per kilo. With 50 kilos in a cavan, the NIA collects a fee of P1,700 during the wet season and P2,550 during the dry season.

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