NIA administrator Benny D. Antiporda gestures as he speaks before the ‘UPRIIS IA Congress’ held in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija, on Wednesday (Oct. 5). The NIA chief faces off with farmer-leaders representing the 102,092-strong members of about 433 Irrigators’ Associations serviced by UPRIIS. Photo by Steve A. Gosuico
NIA chief seeks Ecija farmers’ support for food security
SAN LEONARDO, Nueva Ecija – National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Benny D. Antiporda on Wednesday faced off with farmer-leaders during the staging here of the “Irrigators-Associations Farmers’ Congress” – the first of such activity to be held in Nueva Ecija after his assumption to the top NIA post under the new administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Antiporda said his personal interaction with farmer-leaders during the forum here was mainly to seek their help and cooperation in line with the food security call of the President.
“Our direction here is to achieve the food security call of the President and now with this Typhoon Karding, lumala ang problema so we’re trying to catch up to make it sure na iyong 20 percent ay ma-sustain natin and at the same time madagdagan para mahabol natin ang pagbaba ng bilang dahil sa Karding and kung maaari sumobra pa para sa panawagan ng ating Pangulo when it comes to food security,” said the NIA chief, noting that this 20 percent he referred to was the total percentage of the country’s annual rice production that comes from Nueva Ecija, the acknowledged “Rice Granary of the Philippines”.
As a possible measure, Antiporda said he is eyeing implementing the “triple rice-cropping” seasons a year, noting that he has already submitted this proposal to Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban to be able to come up with a committee to help address the issue directly with the farmers.
Before the farmers’ congress, Antiporda, along with Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS) chief Engr. Rosalinda B. Bote and Engineering and Operations Division Manager Vivencia C. Dela Cruz led the groundbreaking rites for the proposed construction of the new P53.83-million two-story UPRIIS Administration Building inside its office compound in Cabanatuan City.
Vice Gov. Emmanuel Antonio “Doc Anthony” Umali, who represented his elder brother Gov. Aurelio “Oyie” Umali, said that Novo Ecijano farmers “must unify behind NIA because the triumph of each farmer in the province also equates to a victory by UPRIIS and NIA itself.”
A former president of the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPC), Antiporda, who is dubbed as NIA’s “Action Man”, was also called by the vice governor as “Mr. Expose” during his speech.
“Napakatapang po nito walang inuurungan, sigurado tutuklasin niya ang katotohanan at tunay na problema ng ating magsasaka at bibigyan po niya ng karampatang solusyon,” Umali told the forum held at the Mavins Events Center here which was attended by farmer-leaders representing the 102,092-strong members of about 433 Irrigators’ Associations (IAs) serviced by UPRIIS.
