STA. BARBARA–An irrigation project here is expected to serve an additional 3,600 hectares of rice farmland here and several of its neighboring towns.

Sta. Barbara Mayor Reynaldo Velasco said the ongoing P125- million ongoing irrigation project with flood control component here will benefit not just the farmers of their town but also those from Malasiqui, Mangaldan, Mapandan,and Calasiao.

The irrigation and flood control project, under the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), started four months ago and is targeted for completion by next year.

NIA has so far spent some P86- million and another P40 million fund is planned for release by the end of the year or by early 2009.

“That is the biggest subsidy for our farmers,” Velasco told The PUNCH.

He said farmers spend about P10,000 to P12,000 per hectare to pump water as compared to a cost of only P2,00 per hectare with the irrigation facility.

Velasco, a former three-star general and himself a small-scale farmer, said this is a big boost to their farmers especially that Barangay Songkil had been cited as the top national producer of hybrid rice.

However, farmers still are only able to plant during the dry season because of perennial flooding in their farms during the rainy season.

Once the project is completed, Sta. Barbara has committed to the Department of Agriculture another 25,000 metric tons of rice production as their contribution to make Pangasinan improve its rank from number three rice producer to number one in the whole country.

Velasco also said they are undertaking a program to become self-sufficient in table rice and certified seeds that they’re going to plant.

He said they are giving 50 percent subsidy to farmers for the purchase of certified seeds.#

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments