The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is optimistic that it will surpass its previous achievements in irrigating more farmlands in the upcoming season, an official said over the weekend.
“Projected Programmed Area for calendar year 2024 dry crop is 1.21 million for both National Irrigation Systems [NIS] and Communal Irrigation Systems [CIS],” NIA Acting Administrator Eddie Guillen said during the meeting on Mitigating the Effects El Niño Phenomenon.
He also said that water delivery expected for an early start of August 25, 2023 and a later start of April 14, 2024.
“NIA continues to provide the Filipino farmers with efficient water distribution to improve agricultural productivity and to contribute to food security in the country,” Guillen said.
“We will continue to work towards developing efficient and sustainable irrigation systems for farmers,” he added.
For dry cropping season, which commenced in November 2022, a total of 1.25 million hectares have been irrigated, exceeding the programmed area of 1.21 million hectares by 3.07 percent.
Out of the irrigated area, 1.24 million hectares have already been planted and successfully harvested 757,163 hectares.
There are 9,842 hectares remaining under land soaking/preparation.
However, 315.59 hectares could not proceed to the planting stage because of damaged irrigation facilities caused by several typhoons that occurred last year.
As NIA moves into the wet season, which started this April 2023 in some areas of the Mindanao region, currently, 24,672 hectares are under land soaking and preparation stage.
NIA is a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) primarily responsible for irrigation development and management in the country.
Recently, the NIA said it has identified areas that will be prioritized for irrigation, and will implement the alternate wetting and drying technique to address the threats posed by El Niño on the country’s water supply.
Guillen said these are the agency’s “short-term solutions” to mitigate the impacts of El Niño, which can deplete water supplies and cause significant losses in agricultural production.
He added that hybrid varieties of rice and high value crops would be planted in affected areas. According to the NIA official, parts of Luzon and Visayas will be mostly affected by El Niño.
“A long-term solution is building high dams,” Guillen said, noting these would not only address water woes but also generate power. Large dams, however, submerge communities, force people to relocate, and threaten biodiversity.
Earlier, the NIA Ilocos regional office has been readying measures to aid the farmers in Pangasinan for the expected effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
NIA Ilocos regional manager Gaudencio de Vera said they have been conducting meetings with stakeholders, including the weather bureau, the Department of Agriculture, and farmers associations, among others.
“As far as preparation, NIA monitors dams especially San Roque dam since it is the source of water for most irrigations in the province of Pangasinan,” he said.
There is constant information dissemination to prepare the farmers for the dry season this year, the official said
“We have recommended early planting if possible like in Sta. Barbara town where there is still water irrigation and around 7,000 hectares have been planted early,” de Vera added.