MALOLOS CITY—Prayers for more rains are needed to sustain rice crops of Central Luzon farmers that are in critical stage, a ranking irrigation official said.
This came after the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) agreed to allocate water for irrigation of Bulacan and Pampanga farmers on Wednesday, while water elevation at the Angat Dam remains below the critical 180 meters above sea level (masl).
As this developed, Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija also came to the rescue of farmers as they released three cubic meters per second (cms) yesterday in addition to the 20 cms allocation from the Angat Dam.
“We need to pray for more rains to sustain rice crops that are now in the flowering stage,” said Jess Perez, a field officer of the Provincial Irrigation Management Office (PIMO) in Bulacan.
He said that the 20 cms allocation from Angat Dam is only good for about 17,000 hectares of farmlands, while the three cms from Pantabangan Dam is good for about 2,500 hectares.
Perez said they advised local farmers to give way to fellow farmers whose crops are in the flowering stage which requires more water. It is also the critical stage in rice plant’s life.
Gloria Carillo, head of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) of Bulacan, said they are also coordinating with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for proper management.
She said that if farmers will continue to compete with each other, water allocated from the Angat Dam will not serve its purpose.
Carillo stressed that the water allocation was intended for farmers who planted rice in June and July and whose crops are now in the flowering stage.
This was affirmed by Liza Sacdalan, head of the Central Luzon Organic Rice Producers Association (CLORPA), and the Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council (MAFC) of Plaridel town.
She said that there are farmers who want to store water in their farms despite the fact that they have not planted it since June.
“They are planning to start planting now, but this will be for the detriment of other farmers whose crops are in the flowering stage,” she said.
Earlier, Hermogenes de Castro and Rolando Cabrera of the Angat Maasim River Irrigation System (AMRIS) and Confederation of Farmers Irrigators Association hailed the NWRB’s “generous” decision, but noted it was only for “emergency purposes.”
They said the current water allocation is only good for 10 days.
“Hindi pa rin sasapat yung tubig na yan sa magsasaka, pang-emergency lang yan,” said De Castro noting that farmers who planted rice in June and July stand to benefit.
For his part, Cabrera said they urged other farmers not to plant their crops yet and wait for the rains that is forecasted to be brought by La Niña.
“Baka masayang lang yung perang gagamitin nila sa patanim, mas mainam pang hintayin na nila yung ulan ng La Niña,” he said.
The NWRB decided to release 20 cms water allocation to Bulacan and Pampanga farmers on Wednesday night after a meeting with officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the National Power Corporation (Napocor), Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado and Rep. Ana York Bondoc of the fourth district of Pampanga.
During the meeting, Alvarado, Bondoc and the farmers argued that rice crops planted in June and July will go to waste due to the lack of water allocation to irrigation.
They noted that farmers have been suffering a “losing streak” since September last year when typhoon Ondoy ravage their crops, followed by lack of water allocation from the dam this April.
Last June and July, number of farmers in both provinces took courage to plant their crops, some of which are now slowly withering due to lack of water allocation, as water elevation at the dam remained below the 180 critical level.
This came after the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) agreed to allocate water for irrigation of Bulacan and Pampanga farmers on Wednesday, while water elevation at the Angat Dam remains below the critical 180 meters above sea level (masl).
As this developed, Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija also came to the rescue of farmers as they released three cubic meters per second (cms) yesterday in addition to the 20 cms allocation from the Angat Dam.
“We need to pray for more rains to sustain rice crops that are now in the flowering stage,” said Jess Perez, a field officer of the Provincial Irrigation Management Office (PIMO) in Bulacan.
He said that the 20 cms allocation from Angat Dam is only good for about 17,000 hectares of farmlands, while the three cms from Pantabangan Dam is good for about 2,500 hectares.
Perez said they advised local farmers to give way to fellow farmers whose crops are in the flowering stage which requires more water. It is also the critical stage in rice plant’s life.
Gloria Carillo, head of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) of Bulacan, said they are also coordinating with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for proper management.
She said that if farmers will continue to compete with each other, water allocated from the Angat Dam will not serve its purpose.
Carillo stressed that the water allocation was intended for farmers who planted rice in June and July and whose crops are now in the flowering stage.
This was affirmed by Liza Sacdalan, head of the Central Luzon Organic Rice Producers Association (CLORPA), and the Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council (MAFC) of Plaridel town.
She said that there are farmers who want to store water in their farms despite the fact that they have not planted it since June.
“They are planning to start planting now, but this will be for the detriment of other farmers whose crops are in the flowering stage,” she said.
Earlier, Hermogenes de Castro and Rolando Cabrera of the Angat Maasim River Irrigation System (AMRIS) and Confederation of Farmers Irrigators Association hailed the NWRB’s “generous” decision, but noted it was only for “emergency purposes.”
They said the current water allocation is only good for 10 days.
“Hindi pa rin sasapat yung tubig na yan sa magsasaka, pang-emergency lang yan,” said De Castro noting that farmers who planted rice in June and July stand to benefit.
For his part, Cabrera said they urged other farmers not to plant their crops yet and wait for the rains that is forecasted to be brought by La Niña.
“Baka masayang lang yung perang gagamitin nila sa patanim, mas mainam pang hintayin na nila yung ulan ng La Niña,” he said.
The NWRB decided to release 20 cms water allocation to Bulacan and Pampanga farmers on Wednesday night after a meeting with officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the National Power Corporation (Napocor), Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado and Rep. Ana York Bondoc of the fourth district of Pampanga.
During the meeting, Alvarado, Bondoc and the farmers argued that rice crops planted in June and July will go to waste due to the lack of water allocation to irrigation.
They noted that farmers have been suffering a “losing streak” since September last year when typhoon Ondoy ravage their crops, followed by lack of water allocation from the dam this April.
Last June and July, number of farmers in both provinces took courage to plant their crops, some of which are now slowly withering due to lack of water allocation, as water elevation at the dam remained below the 180 critical level.
