GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/20 September) – The provincial government of South Cotabato has asked the Department of Agriculture
(DA) to prioritize the immediate rehabilitation of the province’s damaged irrigation systems that have reportedly been threatening the area’s palay production.
Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. said he has requested Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala to allocate funds for the immediate repair and rehabilitation of the damaged irrigation facilities, most of which were ravaged by the floods and related calamities that earlier hit the province.
Citing a recommendation from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, he said about 70 percent of the province’s irrigation canals have so far shown signs of immediate need for repairs.
“This problem is a big threat to our agriculture sector because based on estimates, more than 50 percent of these irrigation canals will no longer be usable in 10 years,” the governor said.
In his recommendation, Provincial Agriculturist Reynaldo Legaste said the national government, especially the DA, should allocate substantial funds for fixed investments like irrigation facilities to sustain the productivity of agricultural production areas for at least 20 years.
He said these projects will complement DA’s soft investments for the farming sector such as the distribution of certified seeds, farm inputs and other farm facilities.
Legaste said the province’s existing irrigation facilities can only serve 28,000 hectares of rice lands during the rainy season and around 18,000 to 20,000 hectares during the dry period.
But he said the total area served by the irrigation facilities in the province has already diminished by some 10,000 hectares due to their
declining water levels that were caused by some leaks.
Legaste said they have already identified the irrigation system that needed repairs and have completed their proposed program of work for funding by DA, the National Irrigation Administration and other concerned government agencies.
“If these leaking facilities will be rehabilitated and concretized, our irrigation personnel would be able to effectively control the flow of water to the end of irrigation canals and down to the farmlands as needed by our farmers,” he said.
South Cotabato ranks third among Region 12’s four provinces in terms of palay production, with an average of nearly 300,000 metric tons a
year.
The province’s palay production areas were estimated at around 89,000 hectares, most of which are concentrated in Koronadal City and four
other major palay-producing towns in the upper valley area. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)
