Article by:
Christine Cudis
MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday opened two more small water impounding projects (SWIPs) that will serve 132 hectares of food production areas in Barangays Esmeralda and Poblacion in Balungao, Pangasinan.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the inauguration of the PHP13-million SWIP in Esmeralda for Cabaroan Farmers’ Association and the PHP23.8-million SWIP for Poblacion Irrigators’ Association.
Aside from supplying the water needs of Balungao farmers, the projects will also provide additional livelihood opportunities to residents following the distribution of 15,000 tilapia fingerlings by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Dar also awarded a certificate of turnover of the recently inaugurated PHP12.8 SWIP for the San Aurelio First Farmers’ Association.
He urged the continuous cooperation of the provincial government of Pangasinan and the local government of Balungao with DA "to ensure that all agri-fishery initiatives are implemented in the grassroots".
“We should work hand in hand — co-implement, co-monitor — always in coordination,” Dar said.
In September 2020, Dar also turned over the PHP24 million SWIP to the Arapaap Small Water Irrigation System Association (SWISA) in Allacapan, Cagayan.
The SWIP, one of the largest of its kind in Cagayan Valley region, will benefit 75 farmer-beneficiaries with a service area of 100 hectares.
The SWIP is a structure constructed across a narrow depression or valley to hold back water and develop a reservoir that will store rainfall and run-off during the rainy season for immediate or future use.
The Small Water Impounding Management Committee (SWIM) once headed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) classified small water impounding projects as earthen dams with structural heights of not more than 30 meters and a volume storage not exceeding 50 million cubic meters.
In line with the provision of the Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Act of 1997 (AFMA), the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) shall be responsible for the delivery of technical assistance in relation to dams 15 meters or lower. (PNA)
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