 | DA distributes water pumps to El Nino-affected areas in Pampanga |
|
March 21,2010 12:09AM
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, March 20 — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has distributed 38 units of water pumps to farmers in this province whose agricultural crops have been affected by the onslaught of the El Nino phenomenon.
The DA, together with some local officials, provided the water pumps to farmers in eight municipalities of the province as part of immediate interventions to safeguard agricultural crops from the continuing dry spell. Farmers as well as fisherfolk in the towns of Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, San Luis, San Simon and Santo Tomas have been asking for immediate assistance to save their crops which have been affected by drought due to inadequate supply of water from the Angat-Maasim River Irrigation System (AMRIS). The National Water Resource Board (NWRB) has reduced the water allocation for AMRIS from 36 cubic meters per second to only 33 cubic meters per second. Starting next week, the water supply from AMRIS will further be reduced from 33 cubic meters per second to 18 cubic meters per second. "The water pumps are really in the right timing. Well, in fact, we are very happy that DA Secretary Bernie Fondevilla personally came over here to respond with the concerns of the farmers,” Rep. Anna York Bondoc-Sagum said. Fondevilla said the distribution of the water pumps is part of the DA’s commitment to farmers. However, Butil Partylist Rep. Agapito Guanlao said this is not the permanent solution to the irrigation problem in the affected areas. “This is not the real and permanent solution. But, these water pumps can help in supplying water to drought-affected farmlands,” Guanlao said. Fondevilla said irrigation canals should be given priority as a permanent solution to irrigation problem in the areas. ”The bigger activity that we are looking forward is the completion of the connection of irrigation canal from the Upper Pampanga River to Maasim river,” the DA secretary said. With the construction of the canal, water from the Casecnan System in Quirino province will flow to the Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija, then to the Penaranda River to the Lower Maasim Dam and will connect to the AMRIS system through the Lower Maasim Canal. Fondevilla said that with the completion of that irrigation canal, the Pantabangan Dam would be able to supply water and service around 2,000 to 3,000 hectares of rice land. The construction of the 17-kilometer irrigation canal is expected to be be finished in the coming weeks. (PNA) scs/ZST/ps Source: http://balita.ph/2010/03/21/da-distributes-water-pumps-to-el-nino-affected-areas-in-pampanga/ |
