TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) — There is still a need for continuous cloud seeding operations, according to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 7 based on the feedback from their irrigators associations.
NIA bared that of the total 17,676 hectares of rice farm areas NIA programmed for irrigation service in the second cropping season for 2024, the way below normal precipitation has forced them to serve only 1,998 hectares all over Bohol.
This would only be 11.30 percent of the total production areas, which are expected to give Boholanos some of its needed rice supply for the year.
The NIA report showed that 1,000 hectares of farmlands from five small water irrigation systems have not even started to do land preparations due to lack of water.
It may be recalled that NIA initially released irrigation water for land soaking since May 20 in Malinao Dam areas and Bayongan Dam areas, June 3 in Capayas Dam, Benliw Dam and Talibon Small Reservoir Irrigation System (SRIs) and has since then soaked 456 hectares and irrigated enough for farmers to work on land preparation to 1,608 hectares.
“The reduced number of farmlands to be served is primarily caused by the scarcity of water, which has also depleted the natural inflow of water to irrigation facilities,” shared NIA -7 operations officer Engr. Maria Donesa Autida.
Without the usual rains to help farmers prepare the land for the cropping season, NIA has to calculate how far will its impounded water go to make sure that the farms that they decide to irrigate would have sufficient water from the water intensive land soaking until harvest time.
NIA estimates 100 cubic meters of water would be needed to fully serve a one-hectare farm from land soaking to harvest for a duration of around five months of flooding.
Still needing the rains to allow for farm preparations are Tugan-Can-olin SRIP, Tubigon’s Ilijan SRIS, Ilaya SRIS, San Vicente SRIS and Binaojot Small Water Impounding, for a total of 1,014 hectares of potential productive rice lands.
The succeeding rains would also allow Malinao Dam irrigators associations to accomplish and redraw their target from 1975 hectares to more farms.
With the artificially ushered rains falling in the vicinity of Capayas Dam, it could increase NIA’s initial target of 70 hectares of the 923 hectares it can ideally cover with its irrigation facility.
From the 143 hectares targeted for Zamora Taibon, NIA could reach out to the rest of the 854 hectares of farms of their farmer members and another 63 more hectares of farmlands under the Benliw SRIP which were not included in the initial programmed areas. (RAHC/PIA Bohol)
