More than a thousand farmers are seen to benefit from a new irrigation system that was rolled out by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Iloilo City on Wednesday just as the El Niño phenomenon is expected to worsen this month.
In a statement, the NIA said it had completed the construction of the P993.3-million Barotac Viejo Small Reservoir Irrigation Project in Nueva Invencion, which would provide irrigation service to 2,050 hectares of farm land.
Some 1,170 farmers and their families are expected to benefit from the project, which would cover the villages of California, La Fortuna, Natividad, Sto. Domingo, Bugnay, San Miguel, San Antonio, San Geronimo, San Lucas, Vista Alegre and Dela Peña.
These include the generation of 265 ha of newly irrigable areas, 459 ha of rehabilitated areas and 1,326 ha of restored areas. It will also be used for flood control, watershed management, fish culture and agro-tourism.
The NIA now covers 14 percent of the country’s total agricultural workforce.—KARL R. OCAMPO