TABUK CITY, Kalinga – From a makeshift ditch to supply water irrigation, it has become a durable communal irrigation project (CIP) that will sustain farming and boost agricultural rice production of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).
The phase 2 of the Laya West CIP worth P18.5 million was recently turned over to the Jose Anniban Farmers Irrigation Association. The project component involves the construction of a 2.3-kilometer canal to irrigate 133 hectares of farmlands to benefit 76 farmers.
The project was funded by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program of the Department of Agrarian Reform under its support services program to ARBs and implemented by the National Irrigation Administration.
Mayor Darwin Estrañero said no project ever existed without partnership. He said the lesson learned in the implementation of the CIP project is that each group complements the other.
The city government is presently implementing an P8-M worth of farm-to-market road in Barangay Laya West to facilitate the delivery of agricultural products.
Rep. Allen Jesse Mangaoang, represented by Regie Wacas, said the CIP project now offers more development opportunities for farmers who were deprived for a long time due to lack of agricultural support services.
Laya West Irrigators Association President Reynaldo Wansi thanked the agencies that worked hand in hand for the realization of the project.
He assured they will take care of the CIP as he also appealed for continued partnership with concerned agencies to sustain the project. – Peter A. Balocnit
September 23, 2023
