Laurel

P2.4B DA irrigation project seen to improve farmers’ lives

December 14, 2023 Cory Martinez 250 views

THE lives and livelihood of farmers and aquaculture investors in Bulacan will soon be improved once the P2.43-billion irrigation project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be completed in four years’ time.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that the Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) will be constructed in Barangay Bayabas in Dona Remedios Trinidad (DRT), Bulacan. DRT is one of the largest towns in Bulacan named after the maternal grandmother of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Laurel, who led the groundbreaking ceremony of the project, disclosed that four years from now, the people of Bulacan and Pampanga will benefit from the Bayabas SRIP, especially our rice and crop producers.

“Ito’y tiyak na makakapagpataas ng ani at kita. Hangarin po ng ating Pangulo na pataasin ang antas ng pamumuhay ng mga magsasakang Pilipino,” Laurel said.

Last Wednesday,Laurel accompanied President Marcos in inaugurating the P1.28-billion Balbalungao SRIP in Lupao, Nueva Ecija, and in turning over in Subic the first batch of heavy equipment procured by the National Irrigation Administration.

The Balbalungao SRIP will cover 976.2 hectares and benefit 560 farmers. Aside from irrigating farmlands in Lupao, the project will also offer tourism and fishery opportunities to residents of the area.

The turnover in Subic is part of NIA’s three-year, P2.59-billion re-fleeting program that will involve more than 330 excavators and other heavy equipment to support various irrigation projects and maintenance activities.

Meanwhile, NIA’s Bayabas SRIP will irrigate 150 hectares of new areas and 27,828 hectares in 17 towns in Bulacan and Pampanga. The project is also expected to help ease the lingering flooding problem in the two food-producing provinces just north of Metro Manila.

Laurel said the Bayabas SRIP is also expected to generate electricity from solar and hydropower components of the irrigation infrastructure and help promote aquaculture in the area.

“Continuing irrigation development will increase agricultural production and minimize importation of rice and high-value crops,” he said.

Laurel urged the public to support the government’s push to modernize agriculture, which he stressed is key to achieving President Marcos’ top priority of food security and rice self-sufficiency.

At the end of 2022, NIA reported that of the total 3.13 million hectares of irrigable land, just a third, or around 990,559 hectares are covered by NIA projects. Including communal, private, and government-supported irrigation projects, irrigation coverage only accounts for 67 percent.

Rice yield, according to PhilRice data, is at 4.48 metric tons in 2022 for irrigated farms compared to 3.24 tons for rainfed areas.

AUTHOR PROFILE