This hilly and rustic community of Purok Mapa, Brgy. Antipolo, Pontevedra town, straddles the boundary of its neighboring town- La Castellana.
The village is home to more than 350 residents, consisting of 87 families who rely on agriculture.
It is no surprise then that summer heat and the damaging effects of El Niño weather phenomenon brought these mostly small sugarcane planters to their knees.
“Our sugarcane, palay, and vegetables were ravaged by the heat,” said Cusi Farmworkers and Farmers Association (CUFFA) president Joy Cordova.
The association cultivates around 90 hectares, although not all areas were planted, heeding earlier instructions from the local agricultural office on the damages the El Nino Phenomenon may cause to their crops.
Heavily dependent on water, the community doesn’t have an irrigation system yet, but the request has already been made with the local government.
A government project under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has become a lifeline for the villagers. The Community-Managed Potable Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (CPWASH) rain-water collector of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is a critical source of water among the community members.
It was built in 2022.
“Before the construction of the CPWASH, we fetch water from the next village using carabao-drawn carriages, hacienda trucks, or tricycles when available,” Cordova said.
“In the absence of these means of transportation, we walk two kilometers to get the much-needed water supply,” she added.
Residents welcomed the construction of the CPWASH as it brought a sense of relief and served as an oasis in their challenging circumstances. The villagers were immensely grateful to the government for this valuable initiative.
Twenty-five families closest to the water container structure and those living from a distance avail of the water daily, sourced from the rain.
“When drought sat in, a government water system project, fortunately, reached our purok. We, however, have to pay for the water we consume. We use the water from the government project to fill the CPWASH as whenever there is a power outage, there is also no water,” Cordova said.
“We badly need continuous water supply because the association embarked on a bakery project. Water is vital to the operation of a bakery because we have to maintain proper hygiene. What we lost in planting is somehow offset by the small profit we get from the bakery. The CPWASH is really a blessing to our association,” she said.
Cordova said when the drought is over, they want to go back to their normal way of life and planting.
“We need a tractor because the rental is too expensive at P15,000 per hectare. We also need an irrigation system to ensure a good harvest,” she added.
“For now, we are content with what we have. We are really thankful for the CPWASH project. We are thankful to President Ferdinand ‘BongBong’ Marcos Jr.,” Cordova added.
She recalled the last rain they had was in December 2023. As if heaven heard her plea, the rain started to fall just as the PIA team bade goodbye to Cordova and the CUFFA members. (AAL/Lljr/PIA 6 Negros Occidental)
