Samar can help solve rice woes, says lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines - There is a need to irrigate more agricultural lands in Samar to help the country meet the demand for rice.

Speaking before the plenary, Samar first district Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento made this call, as he lamented that although Samar, the country’s third largest island composed of the provinces of Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar, has 25 major river systems, its rice fields, ironically, are thirsting for irrigation.

Compared with the other provinces in Eastern Visayas that are recipients of many irrigation projects, Sarmiento said only 22 percent of the total irrigable land in Samar is irrigated.

He said policymakers may have shun the idea of implementing agricultural projects in Samar because the island is perceived to lie along the path of typhoons.

“Samar is used as a reference point where typhoons develop but compared with other places, we are not frequented by typhoons,” he said, showing a diagram of the path of typhoons in the country.

If the government provides funding for irrigation in Samar, Sarmiento said more than 50,000 hectares of rice lands and an increased yield of 4.5 metric tons per hectare can greatly help solve the country’s annual rice shortfall of 1.8 million metric tons.

Rep. Salvador Escudero III supported Sarmiento’s proposal, acknowledging that irrigating the country’s rice lands is key in achieving President Aquino’s vision of a rice-sufficient Philippines.