CABANATUAN CITY – Nueva Ecija farmers have embraced an irrigation technology to conserve water even as Pantabangan Dam and other local reservoirs have enough supply for this dry cropping season.
This developed as farmers in nearby provinces, including Pangasinan and Bulacan, are bracing for possible effects of extreme heat that the weather phenomenon El Niño may bring this year.
Danilo Bolos, head of the provincial fisheries and agriculture council, said farmers have adopted this season the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) system, a rice technology introduced by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) which provides spacing for irrigation supplies.
“Hindi na katulad noon na gusto ng mga magsasaka ay palaging may tubig ang palayan,” Bolos said, explaining that they allow paddies to be nearly dry at a certain period of time after transplanting. During such period, the National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-UPRIIS) would direct supply to other parts of its service area, he said.
Bolos said the technology is fully practised now in at least two cities and three municipalities within the NIA-UPRIIS Division 3, particularly the cities of Palayan and Cabanatuan and the municipalities of Santa Rosa, san Leonardo and Peñaranda. The NIA-UPRIIS has made a program for its implementation, he added.
The farmers have observed significant improvement in their crops compared to soaked plants. “Malakas po magsuwi yun at iwas mga kulisap o rice black bug dahil yun po yung mga sobrang babad sa tubig ay yun po yung napapansin namin na mga sakit lalo na po yung kung tawagin namin dito ay inaalipunga na rin yung palay,” he said.
UPRIIS has started release of irrigation water on Nov. 25, 2018.
Engr. Jose Ariel Domingo, manager of NIA-UPRIIS Division 3, said his office has programmed over 31,000 hectares for the dry crop season.
The dams, Domingo said, have enough water to sustain supply in these areas: “Mayroon tayong 1,675 million cubic meters na sapat para matapos ang dry crop.”
Aside from water saving, according to PhilRice, AWD “could reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and increase the number of productive tillers, resulting further to more filled grains per panicle.”
Records showed NIA-UPRIIS has programmed 125,848 hectares of rice fields in its service areas this summer. Of these, over 47,131 hectares are already planted.
