THE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is targeting the repair and rehabilitation of irrigation systems covering an area of 142,255 hectares this year as an initial step to increasing the cropping intensity.

NIA officer in charge Carlos Salazar said the government has allocated P9.52 billion for the implementation of both foreign and locally funded irrigation projects for this year.

Salazar said the NIA is also looking at generating 20,353 hectares of new irrigation service area.

For this year, the NIA has prioritized the following  big-ticket projects: Banaoang Pump Irrigation Project in Ilocos Sur; Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project in Nueva Ecija; Kabulnan Irrigation Project in Maguindanao; Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Project in Northern Samar; Addalam Irrigation Project in Quirino; Agno River Integrated Irrigation Project in Pangasinan; and the Bago River Irrigation System Rehabilitation and Improvement Project in Negros Occidental.

Salazar said the NIA is also implementing the Balikatan Sagip Patubig Program, Southern Philippines Irrigation Sector Project and the CARP-Irrigation Component and Institutional Development Program.

As of December 31, 2007, figures from the NIA show that the total irrigation service area in the country has reached 1.435 million hectares, or an irrigation-development level of 47 percent.

Of the total service area, 706,000 hectares is in national systems; 554,000 hectares in communal systems; and 174,000 hectares in private systems.

Foreign-assisted projects nationwide are expected to irrigate an additional 10,234 hectares and rehabilitate 10,302 hectares, while 15 locally funded projects will cover 10,119 hectares and rehabilitate 79,047 hectares.

The government is keen on investing more money in fixing irrigation systems in the country as part of its efforts to increase rice production.

WB keen on hiking loans to RP, bares project plans

THE World Bank is keen on significantly increasing its loans to the Philippines in the next two years as the bank only extended loans worth $250 million last year, according to a bank official.

RP urged to push for safeguards on local farm, industrial products in WTO meeting

THE Department of Agriculture and other negotiators should push for safeguards for local farm and industrial products in the World Trade Organization Ministerial Meeting starting today, July 21, in Geneva.

Bizmen in C. Visayas banking on exports, tourism to keep regional economy afloat

WHILE the country’s economy is slowing down, economists and businessmen in Central Visayas are optimistic the region will fare better based on strong performances by exporters and an ever-expanding tourism industry.

Calaca winning bidder seeks Napocor rate increase

HOPING to update power-generation rates to a comfortable level to power operators, Suez Energy Asia, winning bidder of the 600-megawatt Calaca coal-fired power plant, appealed to Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) that the rate of National Power Corp. (Napocor) be adjusted as a precondition to the closing of the $787-million transaction.

Napocor expects power rates to remain stable until ’09

GOVERNMENT-RUN National Power Corp. (Napocor) expressed optimism its overall rates would not increase as much until next year amid a number of pending petition including generation—rate adjustment mechanism (GRAM), incremental currency-exchange rate adjustment (Icera), as well as its petition to increase it basic generation rate by P0.3685 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P4.26/kWh.

NIA targets repair, rehab of irrigation systems covering 142,255 has.

THE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is targeting the repair and rehabilitation of irrigation systems covering an area of 142,255 hectares this year as an initial step to increasing the cropping intensity.

CA issues TRO stopping Batangas court from implementing Steel Corp. rehab

THE Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Batangas City from implementing its December 3, 2007, ruling which placed  Steel Corp. of the Philippines under rehabilitation.