Communal irrigation brings hope to farmers of 2 Agusan Sur towns
By ALEXANDER LOPEZ
BUTUAN CITY – With two communal irrigation projects now completed and operational, farmers in rain-fed areas in the towns of Rosario and San Luis in Agusan del Sur are expected to boost their palay (unhusked rice) harvests to more than 50 percent per cropping season.
The two communal irrigation projects were funded and implemented by the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) of the Department of Agriculture in Caraga Region (DA-13), with the support of the National Irrigation Administration and the 10 percent funding counterpart of the local government units of Rosario and San Luis.
The projects were formally handed over to the irrigators’ associations during the last week of April this year and have since provided an ample supply of water to the rice fields in the area.
In Rosario, the PHP50-million Limbatagan Communal Irrigation System (CIS), which was formally turned over to the Limbatagan Farmers Irrigators Association (LFIA), is now fully operational.
“The irrigation now serves the 1,623 households, most of whom are farmers and members of our association,” said Fredirico Gurerro, chair of LFIA, as quoted in a statement issued by the DA-13 on Monday.
The Limbatagan CIS, with a length of 4.9 kilometers, traverses through Barangays Libuac, Poblacion, and Tagbayanan in Rosario town that will irrigate some 300 hectares of rice farms.
“Based on our projections, the irrigation project will help boost our rice production from 2.5 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha.) to 4 MT/ha,” Gurerro said.
Among the farmers who will directly benefit from the project is Orcisia Antang of Poblacion, Rosario who thanked the government for the completion of the irrigation project.
“This is a blessing, not only for me but for the whole residents here in Rosario. Rain is not the only option anymore and we can now schedule our cropping period to also avoid pest invasion. If not for this, our lives would still be hard,” Antang said, as quoted in the DA-13 statement.
Antang owns a half-hectare rice farm, and for more than 30 years, has depended on rains to come to schedule her cropping.
She also pledged to help the association in the maintenance of the CIS for the project to last for years.
Meanwhile, the full operation of the Laminga CIS in San Luis town was also welcomed by the farmers.
Delia Valenzuela, municipal Agriculturist of San Luis, said the 2.71-kilometer Laminga CIS will cover around 136 hectares of rice field in the barangays of Alejandro, Baylo, Dona Flavia, and Poblacion in San Luis town.
“These barangays are considered rain-fed areas. The rice farmers here have relied on their source of water for their fields from rain,” Valenzuela said.
The Laminga CIS will benefit some 703 household beneficiaries most of whom are members of the Laminga Irrigators Association (LIA).
LIA chairperson, Jeffrey Manlapas, said the project will change the lives of the members of the association who for years have relied on rain to water their rice fields. (PNA)
