The World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) is embarking on three communal irrigation systems in Agusan del Sur which would cover about 500 hectares to benefit about 2,700 households.
Based on the data from the project, one of three sub-projects, the rehabilitation of the Culit irrigation system in Nasipit, Agusan del Sur, was turned over to the Culit-Kinabjangan Irrigators Association in the municipality last month and it is expected to boost rice production in the town.
The sub-project, built with a budget of P33.957 million, will help 140 households of farm workers as it can provide the much-needed water to about 100 hectares of rice farms.
In a press statement from the project, Pausto Empanado Jr., president of the irrigators association, said that the facility will help members of his association to optimize production of their farms as prior to its operations they were only relying on canals in funneling water to their rice farms.
Empanado said the association expects that from just about 20 hectares of irrigated farms by using the crude canal method, they can now enhance all their farms as those that have not been utilized were just planted with grass as food for their cattle and other livestock.
“Now that the irrigation is completed, we want to utilize the potential service area of the project. We will prohibit the animals to stay and lay down in the irrigation canals. This is also our way of preserving the project,” he said.
Mayor Enrico R. Corvera said the municipal government decided to pursue the implementation of the sub-project because it will not only benefit the farmers, but also the town.
“This project required us a big amount as a counterpart, but the local government is confident that this will result in an increase in local revenue,” said Corvera, as a tenth of the cost is being shouldered the local government unit that proposes the project, 80% by the funding institution through a loan to the national government and the remainder as counterpart of the national government.
The sub-project was also implemented as it was based on the Provincial Investment Plan as well as the value chain analysis submitted by the local government unit, in this instance the one from the municipal government.
Of the two other projects, the PRDP data showed, the setting of the one in Rosario, Agusan del Sur has been ongoing and that it would cover about 4.76 kilometers of canals with structures and would cover about 300 hectares.
The project cost is about P50.46 million and will benefit about 1,600 farmers who are members of the irrigators association in Limbatangan.
The one in San Luis, on the other hand, has been finalized and is expected to cover about 2.7 kilometers and would cover about 110 hectares to benefit about 700 household. The project, which has been issued a No Objection Letter, will cost about P21 million to build.
