Nueva Ecija towns adopt new irrigation technology
MANILA, Philippines - Farmers in three municipalities and a city in Nueva Ecija entered recently into an agreement with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to showcase the latest water savings technology for the dry and wet seasons of 2009.
Dubbed sustainable system of irrigated agriculture (SSIA), the water saving technology entails little use of irrigation water while increasing production yield.
NIA Administrator Carlos S. Salazar, a farmer himself, employed the SSIA technology in his own farm in Agusan del Sur in Mindanao and harvested 220 cavans per hectare
Due to its success, the SSIA has been adopted in several municipalities in Bukidnon and Maguindanao which resulted in higher yields had and expansion of irrigated areas.
The SSIA scheme is part of the NIA’s thrust in expanding irrigated areas, along with rehabilitation and restoration of existing but deteriorated irrigation facilities.
To date, the NIA has restored irrigation facilities for 32,000 hectares of farm lands in 2008. The NIA is restoring another 50,000 hectares yearly to catch up with the annual increase in rice demand.
“We can do it”, Salazar told farmers during the launching ceremony in Nueva Ecija.
Salazar added that “yield per hectare can be increased to 175 or even higher as shown from three years of experience in Mindanao.
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