NIA-13 to hold Irrigator’s Association Congress in Surigao City
The
annual congress serves as an avenue for IAs, composed of rice farmers, to voice
pressing issues and concerns in their areas that need the national government’s
interventions.
For this
year, public relations officer Jane Huqueriza said they are pushing for the
creation of cooperatives for IAs.
“Para mas
ma-improve labi na sa ilang financial [capabilities]… ug ang livelihood sa
atong mga mag-uuma. Mao ni siya ang giduso sa among opisina kay mao pud ang
mandate sa amo sa among top management na kung pwede, makapilot mi every
province na naa’y muventure from irrigator’s association to cooperative (This
is to improve especially their financial capabilities and the livelihood of our
farmers. This is being pushed by our office since it is also mandated to us by
our top management that if possible, we can pilot an irrigator’s association to
venture into a cooperative in every province),” she said.
NIA
Caraga will tap local government units for this program to help legislate
measures that can help IAs create their own cooperatives.
The IA
Congress also aims to help local farmers increase their agricultural outputs
through continuous collaborative efforts of NIA with other national government
agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for skills training, Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) to expand the resources of IAs, the academe, and LGUs to
come up with solutions that can help improve farming agriculture and ensure
food security.
“Sauna
man gud, gafocus lang ta sa atong food security. Ang karon, mutabang pud ta ug
improve sa ilang (mag-uuma) panginabuhian kay para partner sab [ang duha]
(Before, we were so focused on food security. But now, we also need to help
improve the livelihood of our farmers to complement them both),” said
Huqueriza.
NIA
Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen will grace the congress together with the
regional directors and operations managers nationwide, as well as
representatives from the LGUs in the region. (DMNR/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
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