MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday broke ground on a PHP2.43-billion irrigation project that is expected to improve the lives and livelihood of farmers and aquaculture investors in Doña Remedios Trinidad (DRT), Bulacan.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who led the groundbreaking ceremony, highlighted the Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) located in Barangay Bayabas of the town.
“Four years from now, people of Bulacan and Pampanga will benefit from the Bayabas SRIP (Small Reservoir Irrigation Project) —especially our rice and crop producers,” Laurel said. “Ito’y tiyak na makakapagpataas ng ani at kita. Hangarin po ng ating Pangulo na pataasin ang antas ng pamumuhay ng mga magsasakang Pilipino (This [project] will surely result in more harvests and higher income. It is our President's desire to uplift the lives of Filipino farmers)," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
DRT, one of the largest towns in Bulacan, was named after the maternal grandmother of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Earlier Wednesday, Laurel accompanied the President in inaugurating the PHP1.28-billion Balbalungao SRIP in Lupao, Nueva Ecija, and in turning over in Subic the first batch of heavy equipment procured by the National Irrigation Administration.
The Balbalungao SRIP will cover 976.2 hectares and benefit 560 farmers. Aside from irrigating farmlands in Lupao, the project will also offer tourism and fishery opportunities to residents of the area.
The turnover in Subic is part of NIA's three-year, PHP2.59-billion re-fleeting program that will involve more than 330 excavators and other heavy equipment to support various irrigation projects and maintenance activities.
Meanwhile, NIA’s Bayabas SRIP will irrigate 150 hectares of new areas and 27,828 hectares in 17 towns in Bulacan and Pampanga.
The project is also expected to help ease the lingering flooding problem in the two food-producing provinces just north of Metro Manila.
Laurel said the Bayabas SRIP is also envisaged to generate electricity from solar and hydropower components of the irrigation infrastructure and help in promoting aquaculture in the area.
“Continuing irrigation development will increase agricultural production and minimize importation of rice and high-value crops,” he said.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando, Bulacan Rep. Lorna Silverio, DRT Mayor Ronaldo Flores, Barangay Bayabas chairman Napoleon de Leon and NIA acting administrator engineer Eduardo Guillen.
Laurel urged the public to support the government’s push to modernize agriculture, which he said is key to achieving President Marcos' top priority of food security and rice self-sufficiency.
At the end of 2022, NIA reported that of the total 3.13 million hectares of irrigable land, just a third or around 990,559 hectares are covered by NIA projects.
Including communal, private and government-supported irrigation projects, irrigation coverage only accounts for 67 percent.
Rice yield, according to data from the Philippine Rice Research Institute, is at 4.48 metric tons in 2022 for irrigated farms compared to 3.24 tons for rainfed areas. (PNA)
