Thursday, June 25, 2015

ILOILO GET SHALLOW TUBE WELLS AND PUMPING UNITS

ILOILO GET SHALLOW TUBE WELLS AND PUMPING UNITS

Farmers from two Iloilo towns will stop worrying about inconsistent irrigation after the Department of Agriculture provided shallow tube wells to farmers’ associations through the initiative of AAMBIS-Owa Party-list.

Shallow tube well (STW) is a pipe vertically set into the ground at depth of 20 to 60 feet for the purpose of suction lifting of water from shallow aquifer. AAMBIS-Owa also distributed pumping units to go with the STWs.

STWs are provided to areas located at the tail-end of existing irrigation system where water delivery is inadequate to support its requirement, and lowland rain fed areas which are within shallow well areas.

The five (5) farmers’ group from the Tigbauan that received STWs are Buyu-an Farmers Association, Barosong Farmers Association, Sermon Farmers Association, Sipitan Farmers Association, and Jamog Farmers Association.

Five farmers’ group also from the fourth-class municipality of Tubungan received STWs. They were Tabat Farmers Association, Sto. NiƱo Farmers Association, Lanag Norte Farmers Association, Zone 3 Farmers Association, and Sibucauan Farmers Association.

The STWs were provided by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Unit VI through the initiative of AAMBIS-Owa Party-list Rep. Sharon S. Garin who identified the recipients based on the recommendation of municipal agriculturists. The party-list also took care of the logistics to make the STWs and pumping units accessible to farmers’ groups.

Rep. Sharon Garin is the author of House Bill 4539 or the proposed Soil and Water Conservation Act that seeks to establish at least 10,000 rainwater harvesting systems and a thousand Soil and Water Conversion Guided Farms across the country in order to address the irrigation problems brought about by destructive powers of drought, heavy rains, and flashfloods.

Rep. Garin thanked the DA for heeding her request for STWs and pumping units for the benefit of her fellow Ilonggos in Western Visayas. /MP

No comments: