NIA turns over P18.5M communal irrigation to serve 133 hectare rice farms

Tabuk City, Kalinga – With the turn-over of the communal irrigation system worth P18,500,000 to the Jose Anniban Farmers Irrigators Association on July 7, 2021, greater harvest of 76 palay farmers in Barangay Laya is now expected.

The 2.3-kilometer irrigation project is expected to irrigate 133 hectares of rice farms in the city.

The project which started on May 6, 2020, and was completed in April this year was funded through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program thru the Department of Agrarian Reform in its program on support services to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) and implemented by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

Turn over ceremony was delayed and conducted only this month due to the restrictions brought about by the COVID-19-pandemic.

DAR-Kalinga Provincial Information Officer Judith Longid, in an interview, said that in the past years, farmers had been relying on getting water from a ditch they dug up to source out water from the Chico River for their rice fields.

“From the river, nagar-aramid da iti aripit (ditch) ngem every time [nga] agbagyo ket madadael,” she said.

Having seen the struggle of the farmers and the need for an irrigation system in the area, DAR-Kalinga decided to push through with the construction of the irrigation project.

“They are agrarian reform beneficiaries, their land titles were given by DAR ket suruten ti DAR dagiti beneficiaries na for support services like irrigation, farm to market road, farm tools ken dadduma pay,” she said.

Meanwhile, among those who attended the turn-over ceremony were representatives from the office of the Congressman, representatives from the provincial government, City LGU officials, personnel from NIA and DAR-Kalinga, and some members of the benefiting irrigators association.

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