BAGUIO CITY – Coinciding with the visit of the Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to the province of Benguet, the National Irrigation Administration Cordillera (NIA-CAR) assisted the Secretary in the turnover of seven communal irrigation projects for the six provinces in the region that will help in the food production program of the government.
NIA-CAR Regional Manager Benito Espique Jr. explained that the potential irrigable areas in the region are at 185,000 hectares with the generated irrigated areas now at 90,000 plus or 59 percent irrigable lands.
“The communal irrigation project amounting to PhP41 million will generate a new area of 195 hectares benefiting 299 farmer-beneficiaries in the region. This newly irrigated area which is part of the irrigation development plan for the region is seen to help in the food production program of the government,” Espique Jr. said.
The irrigation development program of the government under the NIA, plans, constructs, operates and maintains irrigation systems consistent with the integrated water resource management principles to improve agricultural productivity and increase farmers’ income.
Croplands benefit from irrigation through the cooling of the soil and the atmosphere creating a more favourable environment for plant growth, with the method, frequency, and duration of irrigations having significant effects on crop yield and farm productivity.
“For 2024, a major program of our administration is the solar pump project that will benefit our farmers in CAR. We will also be implementing 260 plus communal projects in 2024 having an allocated budget of around P1.5 billion, aside from the repair, rehabilitation, and maintenance of our communal irrigation systems,” Espique added.
NIA-CAR’s physical accomplishment for 2023 was recorded at 86 percent with 41 projects still ongoing and is expected to be finished by March or April this year.
Fifteen thousand hectares of rice field areas covered by the Upper Chico Irrigation System will benefit from the increased budget allocation of NIA-CAR aside from the West Apayao-Abulog irrigation system in Apayao, including the rice field areas of Abra and Ifugao.
Seventy percent of the irrigated areas in Benguet and the upper portions of Mountain Province which produce high-value crops will also benefit from the increased budget allocation for irrigation. By JTLlanes
