FOOD SUFFICIENCY. Barangay Idio in Sebaste, Antique, is among the pilot recipients of the Local Adaptation to Water Access (LAWA) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2023. Antique provincial government consultant on agri-fishery Fernando Corvera said in an interview Thursday (March 7, 2024) the LAWA projects provided water for the farmers for food sufficiency during this dry spell. (Photo courtesy of Pamela Azucena)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Antique provincial government is requesting the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to expand the Local Adaptation to Water Access (LAWA) projects in the province to support food sufficiency, especially during the onset of the El Niño phenomenon.
Fernando Corvera, Antique provincial government consultant on agri-fishery, said on Thursday the LAWA or small water reservoir projects in the province provided water for farmers during this dry spell.
“The LAWA projects enabled our farmers to have water to be used for their crops even during the dry spell,” he said in an interview.
The towns of Sibalom, Sebaste and Barbaza served as pilot areas in Western Visayas in 2023, and the projects’ expansion to the 15 other municipalities of the province could help ensure food self-sufficiency.
The provincial board on March 4 passed a resolution urging the DSWD to strengthen the implementation of the project.
Board member Alfie Jay Niquia, author of the resolution, also urged the implementation of Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for Impoverished (BINHI) to mitigate the impacts of the dry spell.
“The recipients of projects LAWA and BINHI will participate in water-saving initiatives such as constructing small agricultural reservoirs, maintaining multipurpose water infrastructure, restoring and mending water harvesting facilities, diversifying water sources, hydroponics and aquaculture while others will take part in planting or on vegetable gardening,” he said. (With report Paul Vincent De Guzman-OJT) (PNA)
