Abstract
The Republic Act No. 10969 was constructed and implemented to offer free irrigation to the farmers, including the condonation of their debts and backlogs. Hence, this study evaluated the implementation of the said program in terms of its operation and maintenance, its benefits and technical assistance to the Irrigators’ Association, issues and concerns regarding FISA (Free Irrigation Service Act), and the recommended strategies to improve the program. The respondents were the farmers of the National Irrigation System of Colocol consisting of Bayombong, Villaverde, and Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. The research was qualitative and a descriptive-evaluative design that used a Likert Scale and Key Informant Interview (KII). As a result, the implementation of the FISA was very beneficial. According to the KII, farmers were satisfied with the program because of the free irrigation, some areas of the program however needed to be advanced and enhanced, mostly in the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Section and Institutional Development Unit (IDU) of NIA.
