TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera together with the Province of Kalinga awarded 26.3M-worth of Small Water Impounding Project (SWIP) and Solar Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) projects to 2 farmers’ associations (FAs) and 1 barangay in Tabuk City on February 20, 2023.
Agriculture, being the major occupation of the people in Tabuk has the biggest share in terms of land area due to its wide plains and available water supply for irrigation, thus, these irrigation projects aimed to sustain the irrigation systems of the rice and corn farms in the area. Regional Agricultural Engineering Division (RAED) Chief Engr. Filemon A. Salvador and Governor James S. Edduba spearheaded the turnover of the Mallagan SWIP worth 14.9M pesos.
It was funded by the DA-CAR and was implemented by the Provincial Local Government of Kalinga which sought to irrigate rice fields in the area in pursuit of attaining rice self-sufficiency. Recipient of this project is the Small Water Irrigation System Association (SWISA) of Barangay Balong.
“Walo daytuy nga project ket daytuy ti naudi ngem isu ti kapipintasan. Gapu iti laing ti naduma-duma nga stakeholders, daytuy ti nagbanagan na,” shared Provincial Agriculturist Engr. Domingo Bakilan.
Further, Barangay Captain Jerry Doctolero expressed his gratitude to the DA-CAR and requested for additional irrigation assistance to benefit more farmers.
“Daytuy ti appropriate project iti province of Kalinga particularly the city of Tabuk. Awan ti reason nu apay haan tayu ited ti kakastuy nga project ittuy as it is the rice granny of the Cordillera. Irrigation iti maysa nga component iti rice production nangnangruna ket programa ti DA daytuy rice self-sufficiency, so nu kakastuy nga project haan kami agduda iti implementasyon na,” said Salvador.
Likewise, Salvador commended the Office of the Agriculturist of both the province and the city for establishing the Agricultural and Bio-systems Engineering (ABE) Unit that will help fast-track the coordination and implementation of future projects.
On the other hand, the Ammalingan SPIS worth 5.9M pesos and the San Isidro SWIP worth 5.4M pesos were turned over and accepted by the Rural Improvement Club (RIC)–Cudal and the BLGU Cudal, respectively.
The SPIS which is a pilot project in Kalinga is in support to the RIC-Cudal’s corn production activities with the objective of increasing corn yield, thus, increasing farmer’s income. The project includes four main components – the elevated concrete tank, solar array, solar pump set, and transmission pipe works.
Moreover, some future innovations were suggested by the provincial and city governments to utilize the FAs’ resources.
“Dakkel nga katulungan ti farmers daytuy nga projects ket nu anya man ti kurang na pay ket supusupan yu. Usalon yu na un proyekto nan bumaluan nan produkto yun bacao,” Bakilan stressed. Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer Balag-ey A. Claver also highlighted the strengthening of their respective associations which is essential to support their projects. By Sheen Dayagon
