KALIBO, Aklan -- Workers are rushing to fix the damaged irrigation canal in the hinterlands of Malinao, Aklan which served some 4,000 farmers in the province's four towns.
The ongoing repair is considered just a first aid solution, Engr. Wilson Rey, head of the Aklan-Capiz Irrigation Management Office of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), said in an interview Monday afternoon.
While the irrigation is still being repaired, some 4,000 farmers from Malinao, Numancia, Makato and Lezo towns have no water on their respective irrigation canals. The area covers around 1, 675 hectares of farmlands.
"The Aklan provincial government through the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) has deployed a backhoe to fix the river system. We hope to create a temporary channel from the mouth of the Aklan River to the irrigation canals. The channel has been damaged because of the series of heavy pouring of rains recently experienced in the province," said Rey.
The provincial NIA office, however, realized that the small backhoe from the PEO would be inadequate to solve the problem. The NIA regional office from Iloilo City has been requested to send in huge equipment to fix the damaged channel.
However, enough water for irrigation at the Aklan River is being guaranteed by Aklan-Capiz Irrigation Management Office. The problem mainly lies on the damaged channel for the distribution of water to the irrigation.
"If this continues, the rice production in the province may be affected due to the absence of water in the field," he said.
Rey said they would spend at least PHP50,000 a month "just to again and again make a temporary channel for the distribution of water to the irrigation canals." (Jun Aguirre/PNA)
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