The Department of Agriculture (DA) said a big chunk or P498 million will go to the Ibato-Iraan small reservoir irrigation project which will irrigate 1,600 hectares of farmland in four barangays in Aborlan: Sagpangan, Maligaya, Ibato and Iraan.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala noted that the irrigation project involves the construction of a dam measuring 30 meters high and 68.9 meters long that can store about 2.4 million cubic meters.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA), an attached agency of the DA, noted that the construction project might be completed in two to three years. The reservoir, said the agency, will be developed into a park for eco-tourism. The government will also look for partners to develop it into a source of hydroelectric power.
Alcala also inaugurated the P40-million Iwahig Penal Farm irrigation project in Puerto Princesa which can irrigate 414 hectares of rice farmlands. The project which started in July 2011 was completed six months ahead of schedule. The irrigation project was constructed by the inmates themselves.
The Iwahig irrigation system, which draws water from the nearby Balsahan River, will enable inmate-farmers to increase their previous average yield of 4.5 metric tons per hectare of palay.
Aside from commercial rice, they also produce certified palay seeds for their use in succeeding seasons and the excess is sold to farmers in Puerto Princesa. The DA will provide registered seeds which will serve as their source of certified seeds.
Alcala said the DA will continue to partner with the Bureau of Corrections of the Department of Justice to transform idle lands at other penal colonies into productive rice farms.
Last week, he disclosed that the DA has been requested to undertake the same program it rolled out in the Iwahig Penal Colony at the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro.
The DA chief also provided P42 million worth of various agricultural projects, machinery, equipment and inputs to hundreds of Palawan farmers and their respective local government units during a farmers’ forum at Aborlan and Iwahig.
These included flat-bed dryers, greenhouses, a processing center, barangay food terminals, several sets of hermetic cocoon storage, draft animals, and thousands of various planting materials.
While in Palawan, he launched three aquaculture projects and provided fishing gears and equipment amounting to P13.8 million for fishers in the province.
The projects include increased production of fry and fingerlings for distribution to fisherfolk, expansion of a multi-species marine fish hatchery, and upgrading of the seaweed tissue culture laboratory.
Alcala said the initiatives aim to produce commercial quantities of fry and fingerlings of high-value fish species like grouper, snapper, milkfish, and sea bass that will be distributed to small fisherfolk and interested fish-farmers to further increase their income.
The multi-species hatchery is a joint project of BFAR, the Puerto Princesa City (which provided the land), and the aquaculture department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, which provided technical assistance and design of the hatchery complex.
