Mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan, handang tulungan ang mga magsasaka sa ilalim ng ‘Masagana’ program

MAY apat na ahensiya ng pamahalaan ang sanib-puwersa ngayon para tulungan ang mga magsasaka sa ilalim ng Masagana Rice Industry Development Program ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Sa Laging Handa briefing, sinabi ni National Irrigation Administration (NIA) acting administrator Eduardo Guillen na ang programa ay isang c”onvergence effort” ng  Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) at Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Target aniya ng Masagana rice program na tulungan ang mga magsasakang Filipino pagdating sa climate change adaptation at gawin ang kanilang sakahan na mas matibay at matatag laban sa ‘malupit’ na weather conditions.

“In this partnership, one of the responsibilities of the DPWH is to facilitate water management by connecting small water-impounding projects to irrigation facilities,” ayon kay Guillen.

“On the part of (the) NIA, our suggestion is to reposition our production. For example, during the dry season, we know that the yield of the hybrid is high, so we will teach hybrid production in the dry season. And then in the wet season, we will see, we should release water…So those are the systems,” ayon pa rin kay Guillen.

Winika pa nito na layon ng programa na magkaroon ng isang  irrigation cooperative sa bawat bayan sa pamamagitan ng pag-cluster sa lahat ng  irrigator associations sa bawat munisipalidad.

“So that we can have economies of scale production and to easily deliver the right aid or service or farm inputs to them,” dagdag na pahayag nito.

Samantala, kumpiyansa naman si Guillen na makakamit sa taong 2027 ang target ng gobyerno na 97% ng rice self-sufficiency.

“We can provide the right assistance or inputs to our farmers. Like in the case of hybrid rice, we know that our farmers can’t be convinced to plant hybrid rice sometimes because the input is expensive, it needs more water and more fertilizer,” anito.

Aniya pa, sa tulong ng “seeds at fertilizers” sa ilalim ng National Rice Program, magagawa ng pamahalaan na hikayatin ang mga magsasaka na gumawa ng  hybrid planting sa panahon ng  dry season.  (Daris Jose)