In preparation for the summer months, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will work with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to put up small-scale irrigation systems nationwide.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the Small-Scale Irrigation Program, which will be undertaken through the DA’s National Rice Program (NRP), is part of the department’s efforts to make the local farm sector “climate change-resilient.”
“The survey, design, construction, rehabilitation and improvement of small water impounding systems, diversion dams and spring-development system are among the NRP’s interventions, including the construction or installation of shallow tube wells and pump-irrigation open source,” Alcala said in the statement.
He said existing small-scale irrigation systems and facilities have been improved to make it more resilient to the disastrous effects of harsh weather and other calamities.
Used to be an attached agency of the DA, the NIA is now under the office of Secretary Francisco Pangilinan, presidential adviser for food security and agricultural modernization.
The government is targeting to produce 20.05 million metric tons of unmilled rice this year. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Edilberto de Luna said irrigation will be an important aspect of the DA’s efforts to achieve this target, along with the use of high-yielding rice varieties.
Despite the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s announcement that there is little chance of El Niño occurring in the next few months, the DA said it wants to be complacent.
“It is wise for farmers to still conserve water for them to be ready for any occurrence. We all know how unpredictable the weather can be,” de Luna said.
El Niño, the irregular rise in the temperature of the Pacific Ocean, is accompanied by below-average rainfall.