KALIBO Aklan – The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) opened its newly built run off irrigation dam in Barangay Sigcay, Banga, Aklan yesterday.
Engineer Lorena Sioco, division manager of NIA, said the P650-million irrigation dam covers agriculture lands in seven towns of Aklan.
The newly built dam will help around 5,000 farmers in managing their water supply and boosting their crop yields, according to Sioco.
“There will be no ceremony to be held. We will just open the dam early morning so that farmers could immediately enjoy it. We will close the said farm for some time during the year to give way to repair,” she noted.
Last April, the provincial government placed Aklan under a state of calamity to aid farmers affected by the closure of irrigation services due to the construction the multi-million dam.
Farmers were discouraged to plant rice due to insufficient water supply. The situation was also worsened with the impact of the El Nino phenomenon affecting the province./PN
