THE National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has allocated P500 million for massive rehabilitation of water systems in the country, including Negros Occidental, as a measure to counter the possible adverse effects of El Niño.
NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya said the agency has no quick response fund (QRF) this year after it was excluded from the General Appropriations Act.
Thus, they coordinated with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to provide them the P500-million QRF fund intended mainly for rehabilitation and improvement of water systems including dams and irrigations, Visaya said.
“Many dams were damaged during past calamities thus, we have a bigger allocation for rehabilitation efforts in the next three years,” he said, adding that early preparation could help lessen the impact of calamities.
The new NIA chief had earlier vowed more irrigation projects in the country, including Negros, as more than 50 percent of the farm areas in the region still have no access to irrigation.
In Negros Occidental alone, reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that in 2015 about 40 percent of rice farms in the province are still dependent on rain.
“The P500-million fund will become part of NIA’s budget every year,” Visaya said, stressing that “proper management of irrigation water is very important especially during calamities like El Niño.”
The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Negros Island Region has also been preparing measures to allay the effects of a “stronger” El Niño this year, especially to the rice production output.
The DA has put in place various mitigation and adaption measures like provision of seeds, fertilizers, and machineries to mitigate the impact especially to the rice sector.
It has also coordinated with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management for immediate cloud seeding operations.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration projected the onset of El Niño in the later part of the year.
The state weather bureau said that lesser chances of rainfall contributing to hotter temperature is expected during this time.
