IS THE PHILIPPINE

IRRIGATION SYSTEM
RUNNING DRY?
FAELMOCA | GARCIA | GONZALES | JANDA | LACAMBRA | LAGRAN | LAYAOEN | MANGABAT | MATEO |
PAMBID | RACHO | RAMIREZ | RAMOS | RESURRECCION | SADAMA | SEMILLA | VALITE | VIERNES

GROUP 2 | BSABE-3A
INTRODUCTION
• Philippine is an agricultural country wherein irrigation is of desire
importance

• More than one-third of the country’s inhabitants depend on farming

and fishing for a living.

• Irrigation is an essential necessity for Filipinos, especially those who

depends on agriculture since it is the foundation of their lives.
INTRODUCTION
According to National Irrigation Administration (NIA)…

Irrigable
3.1 million ha Developed for
Irrigation
Philippine 1.54 million ha
Agricultural
Lands
10.3 million ha

around 3.1 million ha are considered irrigable, As of December 2009, NIA record shows that about
with up to three per cent slope and primarily 1.54 million ha of the 3.1 million ha have been
devoted to rice and corn developed for irrigation.
INTRODUCTION
According to study of World Bank…

Irrigable
Philippine 6.1 million ha
Agricultural
Lands
10.3 million ha

World Bank study revealed that about 6.1 million ha as irrigable,

including areas that are relatively more difficult to irrigate and up to
eight per cent slope.
THREE TYPES OF IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS
• According to NIA, there are three types of irrigation systems in the
country:
1. national irrigation systems (NIS)
2. communal irrigation systems (CIS), and
3. private irrigation systems (PIS)
THREE TYPES OF IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS
National Irrigation System (NIS)
• The NIS are large and medium
irrigation schemes basically operated
and maintained by NIA where
beneficiaries are charged with
irrigation service fee for the services INSERT PHOTO
rendered in the delivery of water.
THREE TYPES OF IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS
Communal Irrigation System (CIS)
• CIS are small-scale schemes and
constructed with the participation of
farmer-beneficiaries thru their IAs. 
• The operation and maintenance of CIS
is turned over to IAs upon project INSERT PHOTO
completion subject to a cost recovery
arrangement.
THREE TYPES OF IRRIGATION
SYSTEMS
Private Irrigation System (PIS)
• PIS are those constructed, operated
and maintained by private
individuals or groups without
INSERT PHOTO
technical assistance by NIA or other
government agencies.
THREE CATEGORIES OF IRRIGATION DEV’T
SCHEME
• According to NIA, there are three categories of irrigation development
scheme:
1. run-of-the-river diversion
2. storage or reservoir, and
3. pump irrigation
THREE CATEGORIES OF IRRIGATION DEV’T
SCHEME
Run-of-the-river diversion
• entails the drawing of water under
controlled conditions directly from
the flow of rivers or streams.

INSERT PHOTO
THREE CATEGORIES OF IRRIGATION DEV’T
SCHEME
Storage or Reservoir
• Storage or reservoir projects involve
the construction of storage dams to
impound water and released as
needed to be drawn from a diversion
dam downstream. INSERT PHOTO
• Reservoir projects are usually multi-
purpose to include other functions
like power generation, flood control,
fishery and recreation.
THREE CATEGORIES OF IRRIGATION DEV’T
SCHEME
Pump Irrigation
• In pump projects, water is lifted from
underground or from rivers and
streams.
• Pump systems are also common in
some storage or diversion schemes to INSERT PHOTO
lift water to irrigate areas on higher
elevation or pump groundwater to
supplement available supply from the
river.
IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT SCHEME

• The environmental protection and conservation is a key consideration in

the design of these various schemes.
• The government’s efforts through NIA to irrigate all farmlands are
highly laude but not enough in providing water to farmlands
especially in remote communities

• According in the study of Jayson Cainglet, NIA’s irrigation

development hardly moved and has not even reached 50 percent.
FACTORS IN IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN PH

• Factors in irrigation development in Philippines according to Asian

Development Bank
1. overoptimistic system development assumption
2. inadequate operation, maintenance (O&M) and . D limited
farmer participation
3. deterioration of existing systems
FACTORS IN IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN PH

1. Overoptimistic system development assumption

Overoptimistic system development assumption where designed
service areas tend to be larger than available water resources. ADB says
limited hydrological records do not allow data-based hydrological
analysis on water availability such as farmers much as want to convert
lands, shortage of resources and value of existing crops have halted the
development of these lands.
FACTORS IN IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN PH

2. Inadequate operation, maintenance (O&M) and limited farmer

participation
Limited O&M result in deteriorating canals and structures as well
as silted and defective diversion works. According to ADB, O&M costs
are expected to be covered by irrigation service fees but collection
efficiency is very low. The institution also said most O&M funding is
utilised for NIA personnel and little remains for O&M.
FACTORS IN IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN PH

3. Deterioration of existing systems

Many of the irrigation facilities, built after NIA has been established
in 1963, are aging and have accumulated damage through natural
calamities such as that they are not able to fulfill the expected functions.
ADB says most of these systems now require comprehensive and
systematic upgrading to bring them to full operating status.
OBSERVATION OF CAINGLET ON THE
IRRIGATION STATUS IN PH

• In one of his research, it shows that for all the regions and in all the
cropping seasons, the actual areas irrigated were much less than
the reported service areas.
• Service areas of irrigation systems as calculated during project design
and preparation stage were overestimated.
• Only 68% of the service areas of irrigated were actually served during
the wet season, and only 54% during the dry season.
OBSERVATION OF CAINGLET ON THE
IRRIGATION STATUS IN PH

• The decisions on the level and nature of public investments are

strongly influenced by donor priorities, bureaucratic biases,
budgetary constraints and political economy factors.
OBSERVATION OF CAINGLET ON THE
IRRIGATION STATUS IN PH

• With the NIA, the irrigation development tends to be biased in favor

of public gravity irrigation against pump systems using groundwater
resources.
• The NIA builds more large scale than small scale systems, and
focuses on the design and construction instead in operation and
maintenance.
INITIATIVES OF THE GOVERNMENT
• Due to lesser funding by private sectors, the government allocated
more budget in 2012 to fulfill the goal of providing more irrigation
facilities especially in hard-to-reach areas.

• In 2012, DA allocated Php 35.9 billion peso to irrigate 214,055 ha of

farmlands, wherein it is higher by 27% compared to 2011.

• DA proposed additional budget of Php 1.67 billion peso to

rehabilitate the damaged irrigation facilities in Mindanao due to
super typhoon Pablo.
IMPROVING THE COUNTRY’S IRRIGATION
SYSTEM
• Aside from additional financial support, Cainglet recommends modifying policy
options to improve the country’s irrigation system. He says the following may
help accelerate the local irrigation facilities:

a.) A substantial increase in public sector investment is needed whether is its

CIS or NIS will help proper and inclusive consultations to make proper
decisions;

b.) Developing the institutional and incentive structure would lead to correct
decisions on the level and nature of public investments;
IMPROVING THE COUNTRY’S IRRIGATION
SYSTEM
c.) Institutionalize reforms and other efforts to minimize biases in the system
which usually leads to misallocation or misdirected priorities;

d.)Generate reliable estimates of the potential economic benefits of irrigable

areas for various types of irrigation technologies;

e.) Produce updated benchmark information to provide panning and forecasting

as well as develop design criteria and systems of operations and
maintenance and monitoring and evaluation;

f.) Improving O&M will be more cost effective than rehabilitating aging
facilities;
IMPROVING THE COUNTRY’S IRRIGATION
SYSTEM
g.)Considering the prohibitive cost of new CIS and NIS development as studies
show that large-scale irrigation systems perform poorly than the small-scale,
thus intensive studies should be considered; and

h.) Focus on small-scale facilities such as shallow tube wells, low-lift pumps
and village irrigation systems as studies show that these are easier to
manage, cheaper to construct and have shorter gestation periods.
CONCLUSION
• At a time where climate change are resulting to fiercer typhoons and more
scorching dry season, all the more the need for more efficient irrigation systems to
provide the much needed water in such extreme weather conditions.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• The Philippine Irrigation is running dry. Irrigation system in this country is a
major problem when it comes to farmers and agriculture. The government should
take action faster because farmer needed their support. Irrigation is a must for the
Filipino farmers. Most of them relies on what agriculture give to them especially
when it comes to income. Most of our farmer remain at the poverty level due to
lack of support from our government capitalism, land reform and especially lack
of irrigation.

Faelmoca, Mark Jerome

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Another problem with our irrigation situation is how it has focused almost entirely
on rice. We have failed to tap the potential of agriculture as a leading economic
driver because of the utter neglect for other crops. If this problem will continue,
surely the life of farmers will be at risk. And the only solution of this problem is
the full support of our government to fund all of the needs of our farmers
especially in irrigation. Better irrigation system must needed.

Faelmoca, Mark Jerome

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• After reading the article, I believe that the Irrigation System of the Philippines
badly needs improvement because it is already running dry. According to what
was mentioned in the article, NIA irrigates farmlands are high lauded, but their
actions are seemingly not enough in providing water, and it’s irrigation
development is hardly moved. This means that their way of governing is really not
that effective. Therefore, it needs a lot of construction, from its internal to external
problems with the system followed by outcomes and management. These
problems of the country’s most important sector, needs a solution now.

Garcia, Katherine Jones B.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Agriculture sector is the provider of all things connected of how we live as an
individual, family, community and country so it must be prioritized and be heard
from the higher ups to act and do what is needed. This problem affects everyone
but of course it affects really hard to our farmers since it is their source of living.
Cainglet’s recommendation that modifies policy options then, needs to be
implemented because in my own view, I know it can help the country’s irrigation
system be improved.

Garcia, Katherine Jones B.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Based on the article, Philippine irrigation system is really running dry. As an
agricultural country, irrigation is a must. Many Filipinos rely their lives on
agriculture because it is their main source of income. If the government will not
prioritize this situation/problem especially now that the demand for food is
growing due to the growth of the country’s population and it raises the need for
agricultural products many people specially the life of farmers will be at risk.

Gonzales, Rotsen Marie A.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• The irrigation facilities in the Philippines must not be taken lightly. The support of
the government in this sector is much needed to be able to expand, improve and
rehabilitate, and to introduce new systems that could benefit and cover all
territories including the rural areas. I understand that its hard to maintain and
manage systems and facilities in a country as many factors must be considered for
it to keep on working and some of our systems our outdated and old.

Janda, Neil Crizza Chloe

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• But I also think we should prioritize our irrigation systems because as what the
article has stated "More than one third of the country’s nearly 90mn inhabitants
depend on farming and fishing for a living." this should be enough reason for the
government to focus on this particular sector. Financial support can only cover
half of its development. I agree to everything that Cainglet has recommended in
the article to improve our irrigation systems. If the government and private
sectors, continue to support the agricultural sector and all sectors underneath it
then all Filipinos will be able to overcome challenges in the production and
maintenance of resources.

Janda, Neil Crizza Chloe

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Improving the country's irrigation system must be one of our government's
priority on the agriculture sector. As stated on Cainglet's observation, they focused
more on larger scale system which is the design and construction rather than
operation and maintenance - and maybe that's one reason why the country's
irrigation dry up. Irrigation systems are supposed to be long-term solutions which
address both current and future needs. So there's a need for more irrigation
development to provide sufficient water to crops and to guarantee plant growth. A
well-developed and maintained irrigation system will raise land productivity that
leads to higher crop yield and ensure the stability of production. This will not only
benefit the farmers but also the consumers because an increase in production
results to lower prices of farm produce.

Lacambra, Allen Grace U.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• The Philippine irrigation system is not running dry because through the support of
the government, the operations and maintenance (O&M) of NIA is gradually
being addressed. The NIA government is open-handed with full support and effort
in designing best project to improve the country's irrigation system. Considering
the potential economic benefit of this system, NIA should improve operations and
maintenance to help farmers. With the partnership of Department of Agriculture,
farm land benefiting some households. Better irrigation system can help
eliminates rice problem. This article requires comprehensive and systematic
upgrading to bring the irrigation system to full operating status. Having this
mindset, the Philippine irrigation system will not dry.

Lagran, Krizelle Anne.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• As a student who is living next to farmers, I can see the real-life situations in the
agriculture sector. The agricultural industry has been affected due to some
problems and one of these is the lack of sufficient irrigation systems in the country.
One of the lines in the article says “Irrigation is also a great necessity for many
Filipinos who has regarded agriculture as the foundation of their lives.” I agree
with this line because it is an eye-opener to the national government and everyone
to improve our irrigation system and be competent enough to implement measures
that will improve the country’s production. In connection with the recommendation
of Cainglet regarding modifying policy options to improve the country’s irrigation
system, I would also strongly recommend one of the policies that he has said that
may help accelerate the local irrigation facilities which is “Focus on small-scale
facilities such as shallow tube wells, low-lift pumps, and village irrigation systems
as studies show that these are easier to manage, cheaper to construct and have
shorter gestation periods.”
Layaoen, Joanna Marie M.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• In my opinion, the national government should prioritize and start within a
community before starting on a larger scale. For example, Ilocos Norte has
ZANJERAs or indigenous irrigation societies of Ilocos Norte and they are known
for their ability to organize for irrigation development and water management. I
suggest that they should establish an organization like this in other parts of the
country and cooperate with this kind of organization so that they can easily
evaluate and carefully analyze the concerns of the farmers to have long-term
solutions regarding irrigation systems.

Layaoen, Joanna Marie M.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Based on the article, the productivity growth was not sustained from a particular
year which shows the lack of irrigation systems in our country. But there are
modifying policy options recommended by Cainglet to improve the irrigation
systems in our country especially in focusing on small-scale facilities such as
shallow tube wells. My Father and uncles have been using this method for a long
time and as I observe it is more manageable and easier to irrigate the crops
compared to other practices. With these policy options that they have, the
Philippine irrigation will not run dry if the government will support the
agricultural sectors in maintaining the productivity of crops and also for the
enhancement of irrigation facilities. This article also serves as a reminder to all of
us to conserve water and use it wisely because it's limited.

Mangabat, Shaina A.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Based on the article, the Philippine system irrigation is not running dry because
based on the agriculture's performance from 2010-2011wherein productivity
growth was not sustained, a perceptible factor might be the lack of adequate
irrigation systems in the countryside, and with the governments effort through
NIA to irrigate to farmlands are highly lauded, so their actions are seemingly not
enough in providing water particularly in remote communities. And last, as one of
the countries major sponsors cited also some factors to proved that the system is
not running dry beacause of the overoptimistic system development assumption,
inadequate operation, maintenance (O&M) and limited farmer participation, and
deterioration of existing systems.

Mateo, Reynalyn H.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• With the article given, I agree that the Philippine irrigation system is running dry
if we still don't take our actions' consequences seriously. The irrigation system is
one of the major problems when it comes to agriculture. But the government's
response to it is being stated in the article that NIA has three categories of
irrigation development schemes, namely, run-of-the-river diversion, storage or
reservoir and pump irrigation. And I like the way it is being told that the three
mentioned plans for irrigation development must be guided by considering
conservation and environmental protection. Because it is always better for a well
planned, built irrigation if the nature is not being degraded. For at the end of the
day, when dryness or wetness comes, we cannot deny the purpose of a healthy
environment and the interconnectedness of nature and irrigation to address
calamities and sustainable needs of the Filipino people.

Pambid, Mike Deither M.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Our agricultural sector is in dire need of adequate irrigation systems since in the
Philippines, agriculture is the backbone of the country that supports many
Filipinos. Based on the article, the data stated that from 2010 to 2011, productivity
growth was not sustained due to lack of irrigation systems and this means that we
need to make an immediate and serious action.
• If we let Philippine irrigation run dry up until now, it will be a big threat to
farmers because their crops will not be satisfied with a little amount of water
provided to them. The government should prioritize the agricultural sector to raise
farm productivity and increase farmers’ income and to make agriculture
sustainable for everyone.

Racho, Aloha Mae S.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Irrigation system of the Philippines is really running dry, although National
Irrigation Administration (NIA) is providing alternatives and efforts to assure high
performance of the sustainable irrigation system for farmers, it is not enough to
elevate the productivity growth of crop productions from irrigated farmlands.
Based on my personal experiences that I’m witnessing from the farmers nowadays
in our barangay which is near dam and rivers, we are still suffering shortage of
water supply for crops wherein they are forced to use alternative ways of
irrigating such us water pumps from streams or wells just to sustain their crops
with the needed amount of water. By doing so, money for buying gasoline is
already a big loss especially when you have a large area for crop production
because it is very expensive. What more for the remote areas wherein there’s no
streams and rivers or even wells to get water, it is more worst if that’s the
situation.
Ramirez, Diana Marie M.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• So, irrigation system of the country vastly needs the development schemes
through NIA which can protect the assurance of high production rate in
agricultural sector and be able to provide the country a big contribution in the
economy. Agricultural sector is considered as an essential sector in the country’s
economy and regarded as a foundation of farmers’ lives, I also strongly agree that
the modifying options to improve the country’s irrigation system recommended by
Cainglet is a big help that needs to be implemented effectively. With that, farmers
will be educated with modern and more efficient way possible that can become
the stepping stone of providing new solutions to adapt in this new normal with
high rate of crop productivity.

Ramirez, Diana Marie M.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• It is true that irrigation is a great necessity for many Filipinos especially to the
farmers. Therefore, irrigation system in our country must be a priority so that
there won’t be a problem in production of crops. Improving irrigations is not
enough if people/farmers in our country will not cooperate. I believe that
irrigation in our country is not running dry but it is because of uncooperative
system of people. Educating farmers the proper usage of irrigation and
encouraging them to be responsible in paying their fees will also be a huge help to
improve our irrigation system.

Ramos, Yadah Gwyneth N.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• In accordance with the article, the Philippine irrigation system isn't running dry.
Not the irrigation system itself but rather the uncooperative system of people and
natural calamities deteriorates NIA’s irrigation development.
• The National Irrigation Administration constructed various irritation systems
(NIS, CIS and PIS) and established irrigation development schemes for the benefit
of our farmlands and sustain plant production. So as stated that environmental
protection and conservation is a key consideration in the design of these various
schemes we must encourage our farmers to be responsible enough to pay fees and
escalate their participation. Not to mention, eradicate corruption so as not to lose
the allocated budget for the comprehensive and systematic upgrading of irrigation
facilities.

Resurreccion, Hazel B.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Upon reading the article, my first reaction was that this topic is somewhat
controversial. Since Philippines is so huge on farmlands, if the irrigation would
run dry it can have a big effect to the farmers. In fact, it is one of the main sources
of living for Filipinos. As it was written, they made development schemes such as
run of the river diversion, storage or reservoir and pump irrigation. However, even
those plans were not enough to cover the land especially communities that are
remote. In addition, Philippines can be very vulnerable to typhoons, dry seasons,
and other factors like climate change. These can cause the irrigation to run dry. In
my opinion, if the government does not take an action on creating a better
irrigation system now, it might take a toll on the farmlands in the near future.
Thus, effecting the lifestyle of the people. Even if it is a slow process to produce a
more efficient system, it is better than doing nothing at all.

Sadama, Merielle
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• The government has been heavily investing in irrigation development to boost
crop yield and to enlarge currently irrigated areas for many years now. However,
the Philippine climate has been changing; and the climatic variations and change
present potential threats to the resilience of the Philippine irrigation systems.
Since many of the irrigation facilities are aging, resiliency is relatively low so
existing systems deteriorate. I suggest the NIA built a more resilient irrigation
facilities that is strong enough to withstand calamities and can last for 50 years
minimum. Also, if possible, PIS should be eradicated because it limits irrigation
distribution and all irrigation system should be made public.

Semilla, Eloisa Mae S.

IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• The Philippine Irrigation is not running dry since the government especially NIA
is doing its best to provide irrigation system facilities in the country, yet it is still
not enough to irrigate the farm fields efficiently, since some of the irrigation
system projects are manipulated by corruption and it is influenced by economic,
political and other issues .
• The Philippine Irrigation System will not dry if there is an effective and concrete
plan of the government in operation and maintenance of these facilities.

Valite, Regie A.
IS THE PHILIPPINE IRRIGATION SYSTEM RUNNING
DRY?
• Based on the article, it generally shows that the performance of our irrigation
systems have been less favorable than projected; operation and maintenance
typically fails to distribute water efficiently and equitably; and irrigation systems
are rapidly deteriorating. I agreed to the recommendation of Cainglet to improve
the irrigation system of the Philippines. Most importantly on improving operation
and maintenance that it will be more cost effective than rehabilitating aging
facilities. Therefore, the Philippine Irrigation System will not dry if this will be
achieve.

Viernes, Kristine Mae P.

THANK YOU