The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has disclosed a plan to revive the Masagana rice industry development program, saying four government agencies will collaborate to execute it under the Marcos administration.
Masagana 99 was a flagship agricultural program of the late Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., father and namesake of the current Chief Executive, to increase rice production in the country.
During the Laging Handa briefing on Monday, NIA acting administrator Eduardo Guillen said the program will be a collaborative initiative of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Guillen said the Masagana rice program aims to assist Filipino farmers cope with climate change concerns and make their farms more resilient to adverse weather conditions.
Among the responsibilities of the DPWH is to facilitate water management by connecting small water-impounding projects to irrigation facilities, Guillen said.
“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,” he added.
Guillen also said the program eyes one irrigation cooperative per town by putting together all irrigation associations in each municipality.