TINOC, Ifugao – The Huh-lucan Irrigators and Farmers Association of Brgy. Binablayan will now be in charge of the operation and maintenance of the Huh-lucan Small Irrigation System (SIS) after the ceremonial turnover of the project recently.
Funded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program-Irrigation Component (CARP-IC), the Huh-lucan SIS serves 60 hectares with 70 farmers. The area is part of the Tinoc agrarian reform community.
“Dakkel nga tulong kanya tayo daytoy, karkaro nu summer. Almost 50% ket makaggarden ket tadta, maibagak nga 100% nga masibugan dagiti mulmula tayo,” [This is a big help to us, especially during summer. If we can plant 50% before, now I can say that we can already irrigate 100% of our crops.] said Marcelo Mayumi, president of the Huh-lucan Irrigators and Farmers Association.
“Namnamaek nga agtitinulong tayo nga organization tapnu mamintinar tayo daytoy ken bumayag tapnu maabutan met dagiti annak ken appoko tayo in the future,” [We hope that we, as an organization, will work together in the maintenance of this irrigation so that our children and grandchildren will be able to use it in the future] urged Mayumi to his fellow members of the Irrigators’ Association.
The NIA as implementing agency ceremonially turned over the irrigation system to the DAR as the funding agency before it was accepted by the Huh-lucan Irrigators and Farmers Association.
With a total project cost of P7.7 million, the project involved the construction of an intake structure, four units of reservoir tanks, four units of suspended pipeline, main pipeline with total length of 4.275 kilometers and lateral pipeline of 251 meters.
“Thank you very much because the NIA is really implementing well the projects. This is according to the report of the Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee (PARCCOM), an independent body under the Office of the President that monitors CARP-funded projects,” said Leonor Bascos, OIC-Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer of the DAR-Ifugao Provincial Office.
“Our humble request to the Irrigators’ Association that will use this irrigation system is to utilize it with tender, loving care so that magtagal po ang ating proyekto at abutin pa ng mga susunod na henerasyon,” urged Engr. Raymundo Calusin, NIA-CAR Division Manager for Engineering and Operation.
Calusin assured that while the irrigation system is officially turned over to the irrigators’ association (IA)for operation and maintenance, the NIA will still assist the IA, and enable the members through various trainings. He said that the IA will be very instrumental to the goal of President Marcos of having food security in the country.
Despite the rain, the turnover is attended by various officials from the DAR, PARCCOM, LGU-Tinoc, NIA-CAR regional office and Ifugao Satellite Office headed by as well as members of the irrigators’ associations.
