The Magna Carta of Small Farmers

Section 19

The Government shall provide adequate support services that will address the development, management and conservation of water resources. The Department of Public Works and Highways, through the National Irrigation Administration and the Department of Agriculture, and with the participation of farmers' organizations, shall undertake the implementation of small water impounding projects which can provide supplemental irrigation and additional income from fish and duck raising, and at the same time minimize soil erosion, siltation and flooding. Training programs for small farmers on these subjects shall be provided. Focus shall also be made on small irrigation systems which are more efficient, cost-effective and cheaper to establish. The design and construction of irrigation systems shall be based not only on economic rate of return but also on the sustainable use of these systems. Inefficient and underutilized irrigation systems shall be rehabilitated, improved and maintained. To enhance the compatibility of environmental protection with sustained agricultural productivity, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall adopt measures to promote conservation practices such as reforestation, watershed management, antipollution programs and other similar measures. In addition, the Department of Agriculture shall implement specific measures to ensure that farming practices are not detrimental to the environment. To ensure the protection of watersheds and availability of irrigation services in rainfed and upland farms, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall, in collaboration with local government units, strictly enforce conservation measures and provide for the restoration of the protective forest cover and stability of the country's critical watersheds. Farmer-beneficiaries shall be organized into irrigators' associations which shall be tapped by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to implement its community-based reforestation projects, particularly the development and management of watershed of the irrigation projects. To ensure the integration of irrigation delivery systems with other agriculture support services, there shall be close coordination among the National Irrigation Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through the local development councils. The Bureau of Soils and Water Management shall prepare for each barangay, municipality or city which is predominantly agriculture-based parcellary maps identifying agricultural lands which can be reached by irrigation systems. In order to ensure the availability of irrigation services in areas with production potential, the Government shall implement irrigation pump distribution programs particularly in areas predominantly populated by small farmers.

Section 20

While the Government, through the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and other concerned offices, continues to provide irrigation services, farmers' organizations shall be encouraged to spearhead the construction of irrigation systems. Towards this end, the Government shall encourage small farmers to join or form irrigators' associations. In addition, it shall promote participation of farmers to develop their capabilities to eventually assume the operation and maintenance of irrigation systems and the responsibility of collecting fees from the individual members and remitting an amount to the NIA. The NIA shall undertake the development and institutionalization of second-crop irrigation facilities in support of multi-crop farming. It shall also devise schemes for small farmers to avail of electric pumps or diesel-powered deep well irrigation systems in barangays or communities where water is scarce.