Go high value crops, NIA to

farmers amid El Nino threat

TAGBILARAN CITY Bohol (PIA)— In the real possibility that irrigation services in small reservoir irrigation projects (SRIP) could not reach the end farms in its service areas, irrigation authorities suggest: plant high value commercial crops instead of the water–intensive rice.

No less than National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Engineering Construction and Operations Services Division chief Engr. Evaristo Borja who shared the clue, as the government’s irrigation authorities have laid out their El Niño mitigation activities the moment the state weather bureau elevated the El Niño Watch to El Niño Alert, April 22.

Speaking during the Kapihan sa PIA detailing the NIA preparations for their irrigators associations which can not be sufficiently served with irrigation owing to the upcoming El Nino droughts, Engr. Borja advanced the information that three SRIPs in Bohol may not have sufficient irrigation water to serve all its service areas.

Engr. Borja named Ilihan SRI system in Tubigon, Tugas Can-olin SRI system in Candijay and Ilaya SRIS in Ubay as potential facilities that would only be able to serve parts of its service areas.

NIA, which generally uses its irrigation water for rice farming, has accordingly informed farmer irrigators in the respective areas where the dams can not sufficiently deliver due to low water levels and possible absence of rains, to start planting alternative HVCCs while scant water may be experienced.

HVCCs are highly drought-tolerant food security crops, grown at low production costs, low maintenance and maintain its high demand that its harvest per hectare can turn into in sufficient profits.

While farm areas in San Agustin and San Roque in Talibon, Balbalan in Dimiao and Tiguis Lila pick watermelon as alternative HVCC owing to the possible availability of some water from their areas, most viable options for HVCCs are ginger and turmeric, cassava, sweet potato, ube, gabi in moist areas, peanuts, mung beans, string beans, squash and gourds, some vegetables can be surprisingly drought resistant.

While these crops still need some water, they have shorter production cycle enough to be replaced with rice as soon as favourable conditions present, according to agriculturists.

In the farms of Calunasan to Mandaug in Calape also resort to eggplants, ampalaya when the irrigation water starts to be scarce. (PIAbohol)

DIMIAO WATERMELONS. Getting a little bit of water from the creeks of Balbalan, rice farmers revert to watermelons during droughts, bringing still the much needed productivity despite the droughts. (PIABohol/google)