(PNA file photo)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (NIA-UPRIIS) has started to irrigate its programmed area of 146,202 hectares this wet crop season.
NIA-UPRIIS department manager Rosalinda B. Bote said on Monday that some 72,618 hectares in some parts of Nueva Ecija and nearby provinces have so far been irrigated from Pantabangan Dam as of June 26.
Bote is optimistic that Pantabangan Dam can sufficiently sustain the water requirements of the farmlands, mostly in Nueva Ecija which is considered the country’s rice granary, as well as parts of Pampanga and Bulacan amid the threat of the El Niño phenomenon.
She said the dam may be low in water reserve but the rainfall forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) for the coming months is expected to supply other tributaries to aid the rain-fed areas during the wet season.
The coming rains are likewise expected to support the farming activities in the province, and thus, allow the Pantabangan Dam to build its water reserve.
As of 6 a.m. Monday, Pantabangan Dam’s water elevation was 180.51 meters, which is 40.49 meters below its normal high water level of 221 meters.
“We are encouraging our farmers to help in the reserve use of the water in the dam reservoir,” Bote said in a radio interview.
She also encouraged them to follow the cropping calendar set by NIA-UPRIIS to avoid delays in water delivery to their farms.
Meanwhile, Bote said their agency is continuously adopting mitigating measures to cope with the low supply from its main source of irrigation water.
These include the alternate wetting and drying method, rotational scheme in the water delivery and distribution of irrigation water and installation of solar-powered pumps for drainage reuse and tail-end service area, among others.
In collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, she said they are also encouraging farmers to plant high-value crops for those that will not be able to receive irrigation diversion requirements. (PNA)
