NIA accelerates irrigation dev’t in Mindanao amid El Niño

MANILA: The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) remains steadfast in providing sustainable irrigation service to the Filipino farmers, especially in Mindanao, amid the El Niño phenomenon. In a news release on Sunday, NIA said it successfully implemented the PHP5.133-billion Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project - Stage II (MMIP-II) in Barangay Villarica, Midsayap, North Cotabato under Administrator Eduardo Eddie Guillen. As of March, the project recorded an overall weighted physical accomplishment (OWPA) of 99.56 percent. A series of test runs on the completed canal structures in the Lower Malitubog service area was conducted on March 18 before it will be turned over to farmer-beneficiaries. With water source from the Maridagao River, MMIP-II covers 9,528 hectares of agricultural land in Aleosan, North Cotabato, and the towns of Pangalungan and Datu Montawal in Maguindanao del Sur under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). It has 4,043 farmer-beneficiaries. Guided by Preside nt Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s directive for unity to achieve lasting peace and national progress, Guillen advocated bayanihan (cooperation) and personally talked to the residents about the positive impacts of the MMIP-II completion in their livelihood. 'The installation of solar sump pumps along the dike is eyed to provide irrigation to the dried-up areas with a convertible facility for proper water management and agricultural production. Once proven effective, it will be replicated in the fertile agricultural areas within Liguasan Marsh that will ultimately transform the said area into an economic zone of Southern Mindanao,' the NIA news release read. The project also intends to sustain peace and order in the region through social and agricultural development. To further develop the irrigated agriculture in Mindanao, NIA targets to implement another PHP2.1-billion worth of irrigation project in Lower Malitubog with a service area of 800 hectares,' it added. The project coincides with the directive of Guil len to prioritize, intensify, and accelerate the implementation of development initiatives, such as irrigation facilities for the improvement of BARMM. 'It is in consonance with the 5-Point Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Agenda of President Marcos Jr. towards healing and reconciliation in the Bangsamoro,' it added. NIA is likewise one with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) and BARMM ministries in promoting lasting, sustainable, and peaceful communities. In January, the Master Development Plan was launched in Camp Abubakar in Barira, Maguindano del Norte. It was crafted by the National Housing Authority and presented by Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) and BARMM Manager Al-Khwarizmi Indanan. Initially, it features 234 housing units that will be built in 2024, access roads, telecommunication facilities, potable water sources, agricultural plantation areas, institutional and religious buildings, health facilities and commercial areas. 'Spanning up to 300 he ctares, Camp Abubakar will now be transformed into a zone of peace and development in Mindanao. Indeed, a legacy of hope and BagongPilipinas (New Philippines) for the Filipino people,' the NIA said. Source: Philippines News Agency