STA. BARBARA, Pangasinan (PIA) – At least 70 water pumps and engine sets intended to help improve the production of unirrigated farms in Pangasinan was awarded by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to farmers on Wednesday at the Provincial Agriculture and Nursery Reservation in Sta. Barbara town.
NIA Deputy Administrator for Administrative and Finance Sector Ralph Lauren Du led the awarding of water pumps and engine sets to 70 irrigators’ associations from 35 different municipalities in the province.
Du said the activity is part of NIA’s programs that aims to help farmers boost their production to attain the administration’s thrust for agricultural productivity and food security.
He called on all farmers to take care of all the equipment and projects turned-over by the government.
“Bigyan po natin ng malasakit itong mga proyektong ito kasi ‘yong gobyerno at magsasaka ay dapat nagtutulungan. In a small way na pag-iingat po nila sa mga proyekto po na ibinibigay sa kanila, malaking tulong na po ‘yan sa kanila at sa gobyerno,” Du said.
Du disclosed that the NIA administration prioritizes the welfare of the farmers.
“Kaya kung meron din pong ibang asosasyon po ng magsasaka na gustong maka-avail ng mga ganitong proyekto at mag-request, lumapit lang po sila sa NIA kasi ayan ang instruction po sa amin ni Administrator Benny Antiporda na aksyunan kaagad ang kanilang mga problema o request na regarding sa patubig,” he added.
Engr. Gertrudes Viado, division manager of Pangasinan Irrigation Management Office (PIMO), said all the irrigators’ association who received the said equipment entered a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the agency to ensure that what they receive will be shared to all association members.
“Lahat ng binigay, mayroong memorandum of agreement between the NIA and the irrigators’ association. Kasi ‘yong iba may mga report na sino-solo nila pero nasa MOA nila ngayon na dapat ibahagi nila sa kanilang miyembro,” Viado said.
During the event, five completed projects of the NIA Pangasinan IMO were also turned over by NIA to irrigators’ associations.
The projects provide irrigation services to at least 300 farmer beneficiaries from Anda, Sison, San Jacinto, Umingan, and Alaminos City where the irrigation projects are located.
The five irrigation projects turned over by NIA were as follows: Cabatuan Small Irrigation Project, Cabungan Small Irrigation Project, Poblacion Small Irrigation Project, Bolo Small Irrigation Project, and Nama-Inuman-Sugcong Communal Irrigation System.
Viado said the small irrigation projects aim to combat extreme climate change and help farmers have a more reliable irrigation system and profitable as well as sustainable rice production.
Meanwhile, Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III expressed his gratitude to NIA administration for providing agricultural support to the Pangasinense farmers.
“Basically itong mga ibinibigay po ng ahensya are fueled by diesel, mataas ang presyo ngayon, kaya ang hinihingi rin po natin ay sana makapagbigay din ng mas marami pang solar water pumps para sa magsasaka para wala na pong gastos or hindi dependent sa presyo ng gasoline,” Guico said.
Based on the provincial data, Pangasinan has 182,000 hectares of rice area.