Farmers from Malolos City, Plaridel and Calumpit held a dialogue with the National Irrigation Administration yesterday, September 26, to demaind the immediate rehabilitation of irrigation systems damaged by El Niño and La Niña in the province. They submitted a study on the effects of the destroyed irrigation system on their farming and production, which has been further worsened by successive disasters brought about by El Niño and La Niña.

Farmers said poor irrigation infrastructure has caused repeated flooding during high tide, severe damage to their crops and saltwater entering their farms near the Angat River.

They also denounced the Pampanga River Delta Project which caused the submersion of more than 100 hectares of farms in Barangay Iba O Este in Calumpit. A farmer said the remaining 15 hectares viable for farming is not irrigated.

Malolos farms need rehabilitation, the town’s farmers said. The irrigation system here is on the verge of breaking down, and they have no freshwater source to grow crops.

In some places in Plaridel and Malolos, structures built on converted lands blocked irrigation channels. The North Luzon Expressway’s paving cut the irrigation system in Barangay Barihan in Malolos.

In a barangay in Calumpit, an unfinished irrigation infrastructure flooded several farms, preventing the farmers to plant more than once annually.

Irrigation infrastructure repair is crucial for the rehabilitation of farms damaged by saltwater, the farmers said. Moreover, irrigation should be offered free and should reach the farms all year round. While fixing the infrastructure as a long-term solution, the government should immediately allocate essential tools, such as motor pumps and deep wells, to comply with the production demand.

They call on NIA to formulate a comprehensive irrigation strategy with local consultations, rehabilitation of damaged irrigation systems and urgent completion of the projects the agency already started.

Appearing before the agency were peasant members of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and the Alyansa ng mga Magsasaka sa Bulacan. Rep. Arlene Brosas, currently Gabriela Women’s Party representative and Koalisyong Makabayan senatorial candidate, Cathy Estavillo of Amihan and GWP second nominee, and former Department of Agrarian Reform secretary Rafael Mariano joined them in the dialogue.