BACOLOR, Pampanga – Made agriculturally barren by tons of lahar flows that ensued from Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption 20 years ago, this town’s farmlands have become so fertile as to prompt government to allocate P60 million for a new local irrigation system.
Farmers, who had fled this town to be resettled in safer places elsewhere as Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, ave described the transformation of their buried farmlands from aridity to fertility as “nothing short of a miracle.”
In a meeting with the farmers at the new municipal hall here over the weekend, NIA regional director Reynaldo Puno said he is backing P60-million irrigation system fund for the irrigation project to serve an initial 566 hectares in six barangays here.
This would benefit at least 262 farmers who took odd jobs when they lost their lands to lahar but have vowed to come back to farm once the irrigation system is in place.
A partylist member initially objected to the project, expressing doubt on the fertility of lahar-hit areas in this town.
“There should no longer be any objection to the project since it has been established that the lahar-affected areas no longer experience high percolation or seepage rate. The coverage of the irrigation project should even be widened for food production self sufficiency,” the NIA regional director also said.
“Our lahar-buried farms were totally useless. But now, they have even become more fertile than before Mt. Pinatubo eruption,” said farmer Rudy Granda, 64, who vowed to return as a full time farmer once the irrigation system has been constructed.
Mayor Jomar Hizon attributed the return of fertility to lahar buried farms to the abundant growth of cogon and other wild bushes.
“These wild plants grew and then decomposed on the surface of lahar lands, thus enriching the areas with natural compost. This has been happening for the past 16 years and now our lands have again become fertile,” he said.
He stressed the need to again put in place an irrigation system after Mt. Pinatubo lahar flows buried almost this entire town under several feet of lahar debris.
Angelito Miguel, development manager of the Pampanga-Bataan Irrigation Management Office of NIA, said that the irrigation system would derive its water from the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo through the Pasig-Potrero river and the Gugu creek which once were channels of lahar debris that devastated this town.
During the meeting, municipal agricultural technologist Janette Wong presented a study indicating that already, many lahar areas in this town proven to be agriculturally productive. She noted, however, that productivity is hampered by lack of irrigation, as the crops depend only on either rains or fuel-consuming shallow well pumps.
Vice Mayor Jun Canlas said that the proposed irrigation system would double the amount of rice harvests here.
“The land has become so fertile that one hectare can readily yield 100 cavans and this can be done twice or even thrice a year,” he noted.
Local farmers formed last Oct. 17 the Villa de Bacolor Pampanga Farmers Irrigators Association in anticipation of the construction of the irrigation system.
Miguel said that the irrigation system will cover 124 hectares in Barangay San Antonio, 160 hectares in Sta. Barbara, 114 hectares in Cabetican, 32 hectares in Tinajero, 31 hectares in San Vicente, and 10 hectares in Sta. Ines.
