NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The National Irrigation Administration – Negros Occidental is prepared to mitigate the possible effects of El Niño in the province’s various irrigation systems.
Florentina Magbanua, acting Senior Irrigators Development Officer of NIA, said the number of hectares (Has) irrigated in the irrigation systems of Bago and Pangiplan will be reduced if El Niño affects the province.
“Right now, there are no significant changes in the water supply,” she told the Philippine Information Agency.
Magbanua said there are no changes in the water supply mainly because there is still rainfall almost every week in the province.
There is total of 9, 180 Has of land for farming that need to be irrigated under the Bago River Irigation System (BRIS), 2, 267 Has under communal irrigation systems and 1, 065 Has under the Pangiplan River Irrigation System, from October this year until February 2016.
The targets will be reduced to 7,000 Has for the BRIS, 558 Has for Pangiplan River Irrigation System and 900 Has for communal irrigation systems if El Niño worsens.
The areas that will be affected under BRIS are the cities of Murcia, Bago, Valladolid, San Enrique, Pulupandan and La Carlota.
Himamaylan and Binalbagan are the places that will be affected by the reduced irrigated areas under the Pangiplan River Irrigation System.
NIA – 6 has also made available 100 pumps for provinces in Western Visayas, with Negros Occidental requesting 19 units to be given to various irrigators associations in the province in preparation for El Niño, Magbanua said.
Magbanua brought up the turning over of the 12 pumps by the provincial government of Negros Occidental, led by Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. to the irrigators associations.
NIA is also giving updates to farmers regarding the status of the El Niño in the province.
Among others, the agency is inculcating to farmers that the water supply might be reduced, which would lead to lesser irrigated areas in the province.
