BANGUED, Abra (PIA) – The province of Abra received P50-million from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to fund the pilot implementation of solar pump irrigation projects to mitigate the effects of El Niño or drought.

NIA Abra provincial head Ronald Bisquerra said the project will be implemented this year in the towns of Namarabar, Peñarrubia and in Bangued.

“Diay solar pump through ground water ti medyo makit-kita mi nga solution para ti tikag wenno El Niño so isu ti is-istudyen mi nga agconcentrate kami pay ti ground water,” he said.

[We are looking at solar pump through ground water as a solution against drought or El Niño, and we are studying it, concentrating on ground water.]

Bisquerra said that aside from the solar pump irrigation, the NIA is also finding other solutions to help farmers reduce the impact of severe drought on their crops.

“Ti makitkita mi is trainings para ti alternate wetting and drying then at the same time nga isuro mi is diayay rotation iti delivery of water. Daytoy alternative wetting and drying ket nasayaat tapno ma-augment tayo daytoy panagti-tikag,” he shared.

[We are considering providing training on alternate wetting and drying, then at the same time, we will teach rotation  in the delivery of water. This alternative wetting and drying will help augment measures against drought.]

He explained that alternate wetting and drying teaches farmers to allocate days to irrigate their crops and days to dry their farmlands. This water conservation technique will maximize the use of water to irrigate more areas.

Bisquerra added that they also conduct daily monitoring to provide assistance to farmers who are affected by the severe drought.

Through their monitoring, they were able to identify and provide assistance to farmers tilling two hectares affected by drought.

“Nagbirok kami ti water pump nga usaren da kuma iti affected nga area ngem nagdesisyon da nga haan da latta ituloyen ta gaputa ti water pump nga ited mi ket nangina ti krudo. So, nag-decide da latta nga ireport iti Crop Insurance nga isuda ti apektado ti mula da,” he said. 

[We looked for water pumps that they can use in their affected areas but they decided not to push through with it since the water pumps use diesel which is expensive. They decided to report to the Crop Insurance that their crops are affected by the drought.] 

PAGASA reported that El Niño in the Philippines remains active and can last up until May this year. (JJPM-PIA Abra)