SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Central Luzon Office has already tapped more than 1,800 hectares of riceland under its rice contract farming program.

This was confirmed to ARKIPELAGO NEWS BULACAN by its Engineering and Operations Division Manager Engr. Christian Manalo.

The contract farming program aims to support the government’s rice sufficiency program in increasing palay production, to improve water management technology application, to promote the adoption of farm mechanization and advanced production technologies, and to strengthen farmers’ access to economical and efficient production, transportation, processing, and storage.

Manalo said the program will be applied to those that will plant only for this third cropping season.

Under the program, that is still being enhanced, Manalo said the contract growers will be provided with P14,000 in cash for their land preparations and P6,000 cash during the harvest period.

Beside these, capital inputs like seeds, herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers worth P30,000 will be provided in kind by NIA to the contract growers.

Manalo said that for the whole planting season, the contract growers will be provided with a capital inputs totalling P50,000 in cash and in kind to produce at least five tons of rice crops.

The payment scheme will involve the contract growers to deliver five tons of their produce to NIA’s designated places and then the farmers will be given another P50,000 in cash, Manalo explained.

Overall, the farmers would receive a total of P100,000 from NIA  under the said program if they attain the minimum harvest of five tons, Manalo noted.

He added that if the farmers would be able to produce more than five tons of rice crops, they would have the options to where they want to sell it.

📷 NIA Region lll – Central Luzon