To lessen the strain on farmers and boost their output and revenue, AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee urged the Department of Agriculture and the National Irrigation Administration to repair and rehabilitate irrigation systems that are not in use.
During his interpellation on the DA's proposed budget for 2023, Lee stressed the need for NIA to step up as farmers have been deprived of better irrigation services despite billions of funds allocated to the agency in recent years.
"Instead of allocating huge amounts of funds to building new ones, the repair or rehabilitation of irrigation systems should also be funded so that they can be operational and benefit our farmers," the lawmaker said.
Lee, a known advocate of agriculture in the lower chamber, said many farmers complained about the non-functional irrigation systems.
The party-list solon said several irrigation systems from Oas, Albay, and Libmanan, Camarines Sur, were brought to his attention by affected farmers who they deem dysfunctional projects a "waste of taxpayer's money."