The Department
of Agrarian Reform Provincial Office-Cagayan (DARPO-Cagayan) recently turned
over an irrigation project in Garab, Iguig, Cagayan a component barangay of the
Eastern Iguig Agrarian Reform Community (Eastern Iguig ARC).
The Rehabilitation of Garab Communal
Irrigation System (CIS) Project involves the restoration of the concrete hallow
block (CHB) canal linings and canal structures.
It has an original length of 3,000 linear meters with a total project
cost of Php7,948,900.17 funded under DAR-Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support
Project Phase III (ARISP-Phase III). The project was started in July 12, 2013
and completed last November 16, 2013. The rehabilitation of the Garab communal
irrigation system was implemented by the National Irrigation Administration.
Communal irrigation systems are small-scale schemes and constructed with
the participation of the agrarian reform
beneficiaries (ARBs) thru their Irrigators Association (IA). The operation and
maintenance of CIS is turned over to IAs upon project completion subject to a
cost recovery arrangement in order for the IA to be able to sustain the operation
and maintenance of the irrigation
system.
The communal irrigation system will
benefit the agrarian reform beneficiaries through increased rice production in the
barangays covered by the project, that is, barangays Garab and Campo in the
municipality of Iguig. Eastern Iguig ARC has a population of 2,485 consisting
of 590 households. Around 465.2782 hectares of agricultural land have been redistributed
to 378 agrarian reform beneficiaries in the ARC pursuant to Operation Land
Transfer (PD No. 27) and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
Historically,
irrigation has been established as a major factor in increasing rice
productivity in the Philippines. It raises the productivity of farmlands by
providing sufficient water supply to raise the yield per hectare per crop. It
also provides opportunities for farmers
to plant a second crop during the dry season when production is potentially
higher.
Irrigation also makes it possible to increase the yield by allowing
the adoption of modem rice varieties and fertilizer use. As such,
farmer-beneficiaries in the Eastern Iguig Agrarian Reform Community are
expecting to harvest a minimum of two cropping seasons a year to doubling their
traditional income. /christiandsales
