Press Release
April 22, 2008

Gordon: Irrigation and local incentives will spur rice production

Senator Richard Gordon today proposed on the government to focus its scarce resources on repairing damaged irrigated farmlands and providing incentives to local government units (LGUs) with high productivity.

"For a long time, we have prioritized importation to fill the demand for rice volume that our farmers could not produce. This year, we are slated to import P20B worth of rice that will only provide short-term relief. Rehabilitating 400,000 hectares of land which used to be functionally irrigated but are now in bad shape will cost an additional P24 Billion pesos but will have a lasting effect in our efforts to prop up rice production," Gordon explained. "If we have fully irrigated lands, we can go beyond harvest cycles dictated by the dry and rainy seasons and bridge the production gap. Instead of just one crop season, our farmers can harvest twice, if not thrice, in a year."

The importance of a long-term outlook to address the rice crisis was the subject of a privilege speech delivered by Senator Edgardo Angara at the resumption of the Senate's session on Monday. While agreeing with Angara that adequate irrigation is an indispendable component of a comprehensive response to the crisis, Gordon highlights the mismatch between "what we should be aiming to achieve--which is self-sufficiency--and the financial support we provide to the agricultural sector."

"There are many, many proposals to address the probIem, but I am proposing the incentivization of local rice production, such as a system to provide incentives to LGUs that achieve optimum rice yields," Gordon said.

"If they are properly recognized and rewarded for their industry, if we give them priority in the budget allocation for infrastructure and capital support, our hardworking mayors and governors can spur their people to higher productivity. We should give recognition where it is due," Gordon said. "If we had a government that is really serious about solving our yearly rice supply problem, there will be no reason why we won't be able to put an end to rice insufficiency in three years or less," he added.

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