BUTUAN CITY — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Caraga announced the successful journey of its program on Rice Contract Farming that yielded a total of P9,761,288.50 from the pilot areas of Madrid and Cantillan in Surigao del Sur.
The said announcement was made by Engr. Rosalina B. Caiña, assistant regional head of NIA Caraga during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on October 22 in Butuan City.
The pilot project that commenced on March 20 covered a total area of 2,042 hectares with 16 irrigators association (IAs) and 300 farmers in the said towns in Surigao del Sur who pledged their commitment to support and implement the program.
The program promoted sustainable agriculture by empowering small-scale and marginalized farmers to increase their revenue and production on rice. Decreasing the country’s dependence on rice from neighboring countries. It also ensured that the farmers have a guaranteed market outlet for their production.
During the implementation, farmers were provided with P30,000 per hectare worth of farm inputs such as rice seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides and P20,000 cash assistance that they could use during the land preparation, maintenance, and harvest activities, supporting the farmers during the production process by minimizing their production expenses and increasing their profit.
“NIA provided the farm inputs and cash assistance while the irrigators association (IAs). In return, the IAs and farmers would deliver more or less 5 metric tons of fresh rice per hectare to NIA,” said Engr. Caiña.
“The rice that NIA received from the IA and farmers under the program on rice contract farming is the source why NIA Caraga was able to sell P29 quality rice to the vulnerable sector,” she added.
With our pipeline projects for 2025, we have included repair and rehabilitation of our major irrigation facilities in other areas of the region so we can expand the program and more IA and farmer-beneficiaries can participate in it. In this manner, we will have better production and the P29 per kilo of rice will not be limited to the vulnerable sector, but for everyone, “ Caiña emphasized.
NIA Caraga, with its recent transition back to the Office of the President, expressed gratitude to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for his trust to the agency to help the government achieve rice sufficiency in the country. (MFC/PIA-Caraga)
