The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the P19.7-billion second phase of the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP-II) in Iloilo will increase rice production and benefit 25,000 farmers and 4,500 indigenous people in the region.
DA said the project being developed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is expected to be completed within the year and will be fully operational by mid-2025.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said JRMP II will benefit 23 towns and two cities in Iloilo and will irrigate 9,500 hectares of rainfed farms on top of the existing 22,340 hectares that can cause a 71 percent increase in rice output to 338,000 metric tons.
Aside from providing water supply to rained farms, JRMP II also has a 6.6 megawatt power generation component.
DA addedt the watershed and buffer zone management of JRMP II involves 17,290 hectares that will be reforested and sequester carbon dioxide to generate carbon credits that could be sold and help fund other projects.
“We also appreciate the project funding provided by the government of South Korea, through the Korea Eximbank and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea. The financing that the South Korean government allowed NIA to pursue the second phase of this important project, which actually started in the early 1960s, years before I was born,” Tiu Laurel said.
DA said last year, Iloilo was the fifth largest rice producer behind Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Pangasinan and Cagayan, with a total output of 1.07 million metric tons (MT) from 1.02 million MT in 2022.
Total palay production in the Philippines last year hit a record high 20.06 million MT.
