EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - National Agricultural and Fishery Council ...

84. The general policies of AFMA on irrigation are as follows: (1) prevent the
further destruction of watersheds and aquifers; (2) rehabilitate existing
irrigation systems; and (3) promote the development of effective,
affordable, and efficient irrigation systems. The guidelines for
implementing these policies include the following: (1) identification and
specifications of the mandates of the agencies concerned with the
protection of watersheds and aquifers to insure dependability of water
supplies; (2) vigorous pursuance of irrigation research and development
(R & D) with emphasis on the development of effective, appropriate, and
efficient irrigation and water management technologies; (3) that the
selection of appropriate irrigation scheme for development or rehabilitation
shall be technical feasibility, cost-effectiveness, affordability, sustainability
and simplicity of operation, operation and maintenance (O&M) cost
recovery, efficiency in water use, length of gestation period, and potential
for increasing unit area productivity; (4) the turnover of the O&M of
national irrigation system’s (NIS’s) secondary canals and on-farm facilities
to irrigators associations by June 1999; (5) the devolution within five years
of implementation of the Act, of the planning, design, and management of
communal irrigation systems (CISs) to the LGUs; and (6) the formulation
and implementation of a plan for the promotion of a private sector-led
development of minor irrigation systems.
85. A review of available information on potential land area for irrigation
development points to a total potential irrigable area of about 6.15 million
ha. Of these, approximately 4.66 million ha is potentially rice- or corn-
based growing areas. The rest (1.49 million ha) is for sugar cane,
horticultural and other crops.
86. In 1998, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) estimated the service
areas of existing irrigation systems serving mainly rice-based cropping
systems in the different regions of the country at 1.39 million ha. This total
irrigation service area accounted for about 30 percent of the estimated
potential 4.7 million ha irrigable rice and corn growing areas. In reality, the
actual area irrigated is much less than the service area. Hence, the actual
level of irrigation development for rice-based cropped areas in 1998 was
only about 22 percent.
87. The level of irrigation development in rice and corn growing areas as
inferred from the reported irrigation service areas varies with region. In
1999, for example, the estimated level of irrigation development ranged
from as low as 9.4 percent for Region 7 to as high as 46 percent for
Region 4.
88. The NIA’s estimates on the irrigation service areas of communal and
privately developed minor irrigation systems are of doubtful accuracy
since the NIA has not been monitoring many of these irrigation systems. In
fact, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) estimates of the irrigated
rice area harvested were much higher than those of the NIA. The
difference may be partly explained by the existence of numerous small,
minor irrigation systems. These systems were built and maintained by
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