House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

The House of Representatives has received a formal appeal from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to restore P91 billion in its capital outlay under the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB) or proposed national budget for 2024.

Under the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) set a budget of P41.2 billion for NIA, whose original proposal during the government's budget call was a ceiling of P132.4 billion.

The NEP is the forerunner of the GAB, which is now under the period of sponsorship and debate in then House.

NIA fears that the substantial reduction will stall projects intended to significantly increase rice production and ensure food security.

In a letter to House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Appropriations Committee Chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, NIA Acting Administrator Eduardo Guillen said his recommended annual allocation of P200 billion for irrigation aims to shorten full coverage to 10 years from 80 years to quickly address problems in food security, agricultural productivity and job creation.

Only 66 percent of agricultural land in the Philippines are covered by irrigation, which constantly needs maintenance to function efficiently.

Guillen said the budget proposal also includes immediate measures to cope with an impending El Niño that could severely affect farm production due to water and irrigation shortage.

“We firmly believe that our original budget ceiling request aligns with these factors and would allow us to fulfill our mission better and serve the interest of the Filipino people,” Guillen said in his letter.

NIA has noted the significant increase in yield of irrigated farms. In Nueva Ecija, where the Pantabangan dam supplies water to thousands of hectares of rice lands, farmers can crop 2.5 times a year with an average yield of seven tons per hectare.

The national average rice production is around four tons per hectare. Rice is the Filipino staple food.

In areas without irrigation, where rainfall is primary relied upon, farmers could only plant and harvest rice once a year.

"This is not ideal, considering the urgent need to address food security and uplift the livelihoods of our farmers. To expedite the progress and substantially contribute to accelerated and inclusive economic growth, I strongly recommended a dramatic increase in funding for irrigation infrastructure," Guillen said.

With insufficient domestic production, the Philippines has turned to importation to fill the gap in rice supply, making the country susceptible to adverse events in major rice exporters, unscrupulous rice traders as well as smugglers.

A decision by India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, to suspend export on non-basmati rice varieties has pushed rice prices significantly higher. This forced President Marcos to impose a price ceiling on regular- and well-milled rice to tame inflation and buy time to go after rice smugglers and hoarders.