Boosting the Philippine agricultural sector can create a multiplier effect on the economy especially under this time of the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, the Japan International Cooperation Agency said in a statement Wednesday.
JICA Senior Representative Ohshima Ayumu made this statement following the inauguration of an irrigation system in San Fabian, Pangasinan on July 9, 2021 as part of the nationwide cooperation to rehabilitate and improve irrigation systems in the country.
The project is part of the ongoing National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (NISRIP) of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in collaboration with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and in partnership with JICA.
“There are several other industries closely linked to agriculture and by helping raise farmers’ productivity through better infrastructure, the multiplier effect to the economy will be further realized,” Ayumu said.
JICA said the rehabilitated San Fabian irrigation system is seen to increase farmers’ yield from 3.7 to 5.0 tons per hectare during the wet season and from 4.0 to 4.8 tons per hectare during dry months, benefiting more than 1,565 farmers in the area.
NIA is implementing the NISRIP project covering other farming communities in Ilocos Norte, Pampanga, Quezon, Palawan, Iloilo, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Agusan del Sur. More than 25,000 farmers are seen to benefit from this agricultural development cooperation.
Aside from rehabilitating and improving irrigation systems, NISRIP also supports the capacity building of farmers and irrigators associations in operating and maintaining the infrastructure.
To date, there had been 5 irrigation systems rehabilitated in the Philippines under NISRIP.
Since the 1960s, JICA has been supportive of the Philippine agriculture sector, with about 7 percent of its Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocated to the sector.
JICA also helps enhance the value chain including not only in the production but also in the processing, distribution and consumption of agriculture products.
The Japanese aid agency implements Japan's ODA, handles technical cooperation, loans and investment, and grants aid, as well as cooperation volunteers and disaster relief programs.