GIFT TO FARMERS. Officials of the National Irrigation Administration in Caraga and the Province of Dinagat Islands turn over to farmers the PHP8.1-million irrigation project in Barangay Garcia in Libjo town. The project is seen to enhance the production of palay and help augment the income of the farmers in the area. (Photo courtesy of Province of Dinagat Islands Information Office)
BUTUAN CITY – The National Irrigation Administration in Caraga Region (NIA-13) handed over on Thursday (Jan. 23) a communal irrigation system that will benefit over 25 hectares of palay farms in Barangay Garcia in Libjo town, Province of Dinagat Islands.
Known as the “Garcia-Kudkuran Communal Irrigation Project,” the project's turnover was led by Governor Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao and NIA General Manager Madante Ganotisi.
The irrigation project was funded under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in the amount of over PHP8.1 million. It will benefit 25 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) and the other farmers’ groups and associations in the area.
To ensure that the project will sustain to benefit more farmers in the future, Bag-ao called on the beneficiaries to properly manage the irrigation facility, including the care of its water source, the Kudkuran River.
She also urged them to plant more trees in the river banks and areas near the source of the irrigation project.
In a statement on Thursday, the Dinagat Islands' information office said the farmers in Barangay Garcia expressed gratitude to NIA, DAR and the provincial government for the realization of the project.
It said the project is expected to improve the operating efficiency of the Garcia-Kudkuran Communal Irrigation through a modernization-based upgrading package.
The irrigation will also enhance the productivity of palay farmers and stimulate economic activity in Barangay Garcia and its nearby areas, it added. (PNA)
