JICA INAUGURATES P104-M IRRIGATION PROJECT

The irrigation system in Digos City is seen to restore about 2,780 hectares of service area in Davao del Sur

A newly rehabilitated and improved national irrigation system, Mal River Irrigation System (RIS), in Digos City, Davao del Sur was inaugurated on September 21, 2018 as part of the continuing assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency ( Jica).

The project is part of Jica’s support to the agriculture sector in the Philippines under the 6.187-billion yen (Y) National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (NISRIP).

The Mal RIS subproject, which began in 2016 and was completed last May, aims to restore about 2,780 hectares of service area in the province to help raise productivity and income of 3,720 farmers in the area. It is one out of the eleven national irrigation systems to be rehabilitated under NISRIP.

“Jica is working with various sectors in the Philippines, including agriculture, to help improve rice productivity and raise the income of Filipino farming households,” JICA Philippines Chief Representative Yoshio Wada said.

Top officials of the Province of Davao del Sur, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Office of the Cabinet Secretary, JICA, and farmer beneficiaries attended the inauguration including turnover of support facilities for irrigators’ associations (IAs).

The NISRIP has three components, namely: rehabilitation of irrigation facilities, institutional strengthening of irrigation authorities, and agricultural support.

NISRIP is part of NIA’s major thrust to fast track the restoration and rehabilitation of national irrigation systems to improve and sustain rice production and other staples in the country.

The 11 NISRIP sites are located in the following 10 prov- inces: Ilocos Norte (Madongan and Solsona RIS), Pangasinan (San Fabian RIS), Pampanga (Porac-Gumain RIS), Quezon (Dumacaa RIS), Palawan (Malatgao RIS), Iloilo (Sta. Barbara RIS), Bukidnon (Muleta RIS), Davao del Sur (Mal RIS), Sultan Kudarat (Lambayong RIS), and Agusan del Sur (Simulao RIS).

In the Philippines, JICA has been helping reduce poverty through projects in the agriculture sector, infrastructure, and disaster risk reduction, among many others. As of 2017, total ODA of JICA in the Philippines allocated for agriculture amounted to about Y295 billion.