DAGUPAN CITY (PIA) - At least 70 water pumps and engine sets intended to augment water shortage in some rain-fed areas of unirrigated farms in Pangasinan were distributed by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Wednesday at the Provincial Agriculture and Nursery Reservation in Sta. Barbara town.
Ralph Lauren Du, NIA deputy administrator for administrative and finance Sector, led the awarding of water pumps and engine sets to 70 irrigators’ associations from 35 different municipalities in the province.
Du said the activity is part of NIA’s programs that aims to help farmers boost their production to attain the administration’s thrust for agricultural productivity and food security.
He called on all farmers to take care of all the equipment and projects turned over by the government.
“Bigyan po natin ng malasakit itong mga proyektong ito kasi 'yung gobyerno at magsasaka ay dapat nagtutulungan. In a small way na pag-iingat po nila sa mga proyekto po na ibinibigay sa kanila, malaking tulong na po 'yan sa kanila at sa gobyerno,” Du said.
Du reported that the NIA administration prioritizes the welfare of the farmers.
“Kaya kung meron din pong ibang asosasyon po ng magsasaka na gustong maka-avail ng mga ganitong proyekto at mag-request, lumapit lang po sila sa NIA kasi ayan ang instruction po sa atin ni Administrator Benny Antiporda na aksyunan kaagad ang kanilang mga problema o request na regarding patubig,” he added.
Engr. Gertrudes Viado, division manager of Pangasinan Irrigation Management Office (PIMO), said all the irrigators’ associations which received the said equipment entered a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the agency to ensure that what they receive will be shared with all association members.
“Lahat ng binigay, mayroong MOA between the NIA and the Irrigators' Association. Kasi yung iba may mga report na sino-solo nila pero nasa MOA nila ngayon na dapat ibahagi nila sa kanilang miyembro,” Viado said.
During the event, five completed projects of NIA Pangasinan IMO were also turned over by NIA to the irrigators association.
The projects provide irrigation services to at least 300 farmer-beneficiaries from Anda, Sison, San Jacinto Umingan and Alaminos City where the irrigation projects are located.
The five irrigation projects turned over by NIA were as follows: Cabatuan Small Irrigation Project, Cabungan Small Irrigation Project, Poblacion Small Irrigation Project, Bolo Small Irrigation Project, and Nama-Inuman-Sugcong Communal Irrigation System.
Viado said the small irrigation projects aim to combat extreme climate change and help farmers have a more reliable irrigation system and profitable as well as sustainable rice production.
Meanwhile, Pangasinan Governor Ramon Guico III expressed his gratitude to the NIA administration for providing agricultural support to the Pangasinense farmers.
“Basically itong mga ibinibigay po ng ahensya are fueled by diesel, mataas ang presyo ngayon, kaya ang hinihingi din po natin ay sana makapagbigay din ng mas marami pang solar water pumps para sa magsasaka para wala na pong gastos or hindi dependent sa presyo ng gasoline,” Guico said.
Based on the provincial data, Pangasinan has 182,000 hectares of rice area. Of the number, only 60 percent of 109, 200 hectares while 40 percent or 72, 800 hectares are non-irrigated rice areas. (JCR/JPD/PMDS-intern/EMSA, PIA Pangasinan)
