BAGO CITY -- Secretary Arthur Yap said yesterday that the Department of Agriculture will assist the provincial government in preparing a feasibility study for the creation of an "irrigation highway" and in the marketing of organic products of Negros Occidental.

Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon and Vice Gov. Isidro Zayco will present to Yap this morning the proposed irrigation highway mega project and request for DA assistance in the conduct of its pre-feasibility study estimated at P50 million.

The irrigation highway expected to cost billions of pesos is proposed to be constructed in seven sites - Victorias, Cadiz, Sipalay, Sagay, Ilog, Binalbagan, and Don Salvador Benedicto. The large dams for the irrigation highway can also serve as sources for clean hydro electric energy that will provide additional power for the province, according to the proposal.

We are willing to partner with Gov. Marañon because he is a very pro-active local official, especially in agriculture, Yap said. The DA is always reminding local officials that that agriculture is a devolved responsibility to local government units, he said.

Yap said the DA prefers to partner with local governments that are very aggressive in agriculture like Marañon. "If he wants an irrigation highway we can study it together with the National Irrigation Administration," he said.

The NIA may already have some of the data needed so we can reduce the cost of the feasibility study, he said.

Yap also said Negros Occidental is one of the leading provinces when it comes to organic farming and the DA will assist it in marketing its products.

The wellness industry is earning billions of pesos so there is a lot of potential for organic products from Negros, he said.

Yap yesterday visited the organic market of Negros Occidental behind the Capitol building in Bacolod City, met with farmers who are members of the Bago Irrigator's Association and spoke before the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The Bago River Irrigation System that is currently under repair is expected to fully operational by September.

Rosemarie Caunca, one of the rice farmers at Yap's dialog in Bago, said the annual closure of the irrigation system for repairs has caused farmers to have only two cropping seasons a year instead of three, causing them to lose much needed income.

She also said what appears to be a large release of National Food Authority rice into the local government has caused prices of palay during the harvest season to drop.

It also believed that some of the NFA grains in the market are sold as commercial rice without the NFA label, Caunca said.*CPG

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