The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) will implement various interventions for farmers who may be affected by an irrigation shortage, as it continues to monitor the situation at Magat Dam.

According to NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen, around 20% to 25% of the estimated 90,000 hectares covered by the Magat irrigation system could lose water supply if the water level in Magat Dam remains low.

“Irigated area lang namin so far, ‘yong target area namin na 140,000 kaya pa patubigan naman. Pero diyan sa may Magat area, ‘yan ang may critical dahil mababa na ‘yong ating level. Siguro ang affected diyan around 20,000 hectares sa may Magat area or out of the 90,000,” he said

The NIA is already coordinating with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to encourage farmers to plant high-value crops that require less water, such as mung beans (munggo) and peanuts, while the irrigation supply remains insufficient.

The agency is also studying the distribution of water pumps and fuel assistance and considering allocating funds for the early repair of irrigation canals and the installation of solar pump irrigation systems.

“Ang decision namin, tulungan sila through water pump, ‘yong fuel. Tinitingnan namin kung pwede kaming kumuha ng pondo namin sa aming operational maintenance at itulong sa kanilang fuel,” Guillen said

“So anyway, again multi-agency task ito. So tumutulong ang DA, tumutulong din ang DSWD, tumutulong din ang DOLE,” he added

The NIA has also requested the DA to conduct cloud seeding operations over the Magat Dam catchment area, noting that while there is rainfall around the reservoir, it doesn’t directly reach the dam. They also hope that if the water inflow increases in the coming days, some farmers will still have the opportunity to catch up on their planting.

With reports from Grace Doctolero

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