LUPAO, Nueva Ecija (PIA) — Balbalungao Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (BSRIP) in Lupao will ease the effects of El Niño in four agricultural barangays in Nueva Ecija.
National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS) Division 1 Manager Felix Teaño Jr. said the dam can irrigate approximately 500 to 900 hectares of farmland that benefits about 560 farmers from the villages of San Isidro, Balbalungao, Salvacion, and Mapangpang.
The facility was inaugurated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last week.
In an interview, some beneficiaries said that they used to rely only on rain to grow crops that resulted in low yield and income. San Isidro Balbalungao Irrigators’ Association President Joseph Trinidad said they used to harvest only 80 to 90 cavans of rice per hectare in just one planting season in a year.
“That’s why the inauguration of the new irrigation project is of great help that will now benefit all the farmers in the barangay to farm twice or more in a year,” he pressed.
For his part, Teaño advised the beneficiaries to take care and not abuse the use of water from the dam to get the most out of the project in increasing the yields.
“So it can also be used not only in this time but also benefit future generations,” the official emphasized.
Meanwhile, NIA-UPRIIS Division 1 aims to irrigate about 14,000 hectares of farmland this dry cropping season, exceeding the original target of about 11,000 hectares. It covers parts of Licab, Lupao, Quezon, Santo Domingo, Llanera, Talavera, as well as the Science City of Muñoz and San Jose City.
The dry cropping season is from December until April next year.
Data from the agency show that an estimated 8,000 out of 22,474 hectares of its covered farmland are at risk of being affected by the drought.
Aside from the dam, other measures being undertaken to mitigate the effects of El Niño include cloud seeding, alternate wetting and drying technology, and dry land preparation.
Also, the use of early maturing varieties of rice wherein NIA partnered with the Philippine Rice Research Institute in educating the farmers. (CLJD/CCN-PIA 3)
The Balbalungao Small Reservoir Irrigation Project in Lupao will ease the effects of El Niño in four agricultural barangays in Nueva Ecija. The dam can irrigate approximately 500 to 900 hectares of farmland that benefits about 560 farmers from the villages of San Isidro, Balbalungao, Salvacion, and Mapangpang. (Camille C. Nagaño/PIA 3)
