Submitted by admin-r4b on
Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro - Assisted by the focal IDP Implementers from the MIMAROPA Region, the officers and BOTs of the Region 4B Federation of Irrigators' Associations, Inc. (R4BFIA) held their quarterly meeting on June 26, 2024, at the NIA Conference Room in Bayanan II. The meeting focused on providing updates on the NCIA's (National Confederation of Irrigators Association Inc.) programs and activities relevant to Irrigators' Associations (IAs).
During the meeting, R4BFIA President Mr. Patricio M. Laberez Jr. discussed key topics from the recently concluded NCIA meeting held on June 21, 2024, at the NIA Central Office. A central focus was establishing a clear system and guidelines for distributing funds from the Sampung Piso Mula sa Puso program to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings.
Implemented nationwide in July 2022 through the efforts of NCIA President Remy N. Albano, the aforementioned program collects a P10.00 contribution per hectare per cropping season from the P150.00 operation subsidy initially granted to IA, which has now increased to P500.00. In the MIMAROPA Region, these collected funds are then distributed to support the activities and programs of different IA levels: P4.00/hectare/cropping to the Provincial Federation of IA, P4.00/hectare/cropping to the Regional Federation of IA, and P2.00/hectare/cropping to the National Confederation of IA.
President Laberez also presented a resolution from the NCIA officers to the Department of Agriculture (DA) requesting that all provinces be included in the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) program. He further emphasized the importance of encouraging IAs to establish their own cooperatives, separate from existing cooperatives with non-irrigator members.
Other R4BFIA officers and BOTs from the Mindoro Oriental-Marinduque-Romblon (MOMARO) Irrigation Management Office (IMO), Occidental Mindoro IMO, and Palawan IMO participated virtually from their respective venues.