AGRICULTURE Secretary Arthur Yap on Tuesday said government spent P3.126 billion last year to restore and rehabilitate irrigation facilities to service a total of 96,209 hectares of farmland in the country.

In a report to Yap, National Irrigation Authority Administrator Marcelino Tugaoen Jr. said restored irrigation facilities now service 55,000 hectares, while the rehabilitated ones provide water to some 41,209 hectares.

Over the next three years, Yap said the DA is targeting the repair and rehabilitation of more irrigation systems covering 300,000 hectares in a bid to achieve government’s goal of rice sufficiency by 2010.

To date, the country has 1.413 million hectares of irrigated lands, of which 695,774 hectares are serviced by the national irrigation systems (NIS), and another 543,262 hectares serviced by communal irrigation systems (CIS), plus some 174,200 hectares more that are serviced by privately owned facilities.

"The P3-billion allocation by the Arroyo administration for rural infrastructure last year was the first time ever that the department was able to spend so much on irrigation," Yap said.

Tugaoen said the higher spending on the construction, repair and rehabilitation of irrigation systems in key palay-producing areas is a crucial element in the govern-ment’s goal of attaining rice self-sufficiency, raising farmers’ incomes and making rice more affordable to the poor.

Yap said President Arroyo gave the go-ahead in a recent Cabinet meeting to the DA’s banner programs that include the already ongoing repair and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities, construction of farm-to-market roads, establishment of more post-harvest facilities, Barangay Bagsakan and Tindahan Natin outlets.

Yap said DA plans to build 708 kilometers of farm-to-market roads and put up 200 units of market-related infrastructure including Barangay Bagsakan and trading posts this year. – Job T. Realubit