By Mike Crismundo  BUTUAN CITY – The completion of the construction of the 12 diversion dams worth more than P46.683 million situated in strategic farming locations in Caraga region will surely benefit a huge number of farmers in the region,” disclosed Emmylou T. Presilda, regional spokesperson of the Department of Agriculture (DA), on Tuesday. The completed diversion dams in Barangay Burgos, in the municipality of Cortes, Surigao del Sur province. (Photos courtesy of DA 13-PIO/Mike U. Crismundo/Manila Bulletin) “Their rice production will surely increase in year 2020 and beyond,” said the region’s DA spokesperson, in an exclusive interview with The Manila Bulletin on Tuesday. The DA focuses to build more agriculture infrastructures to help the farm sector improve rural productivity and increase the income of local farmers through Secretary William D. Dar's agri-industrialization strategy, also said DA 13 Regional Executive Director (RED) Abel James I. Monteagudo. “The construction and rehabilitation of irrigation facilities in identified farming sites in Caraga region, will surely increase the production of our farmers while also alleviate their living condition,” said the region’s top DA 13 official, adding “this is President Duterte’s promise to help our farmers in Caraga region”. A huge number of farmers of the 12 proponent associations will benefit in the completed 12 diversion dams strategically located in rice farming sites in the region, it said. Meanwhile, rice farmers in the municipality of Cortes, Surigao del Sur can now irrigate their farmland as the Igang-Caman-onan and Kagbaye Diversion Dams started to operate this year. The DA– Caraga formally turned over the two diversion dams to Cagbaye Farmers Irrigators Association (CFIA-SWISA) and Camam-onan Farmers Samahang Walang Iwanan sa Agrikultura (CFSWISA) recently. DA-Caraga Regional Technical Director Nicandro M. Navia, Jr. led the turnover ceremony of the diversion dams located at Barangay Burgos, in Cortes town of that same province. "We are more than willing to partner with the local government units to make idle lands productive that the farmers can benefit," Director Navia said. The newly constructed diversion dams are part of the small-scale irrigation project under the DA Rice Program in partnership with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) and coordination with the Local Government Units. Many farmers will be provided with a stable irrigation system for rice production. "We were the only ones doing the sand-bagging to build a makeshift irrigation canal. However, the improvised canal was no use during the rainy season for it is not strong enough to control the water," CFSWISA President Restituto Olbes recalled. Most farmers in the barangay have been dependent on rainwater to irrigate their farms, he added. But with the establishment of the irrigation system, this rekindles hope among rice farmers who wanted to increase their income and maximized rice yields. "Our struggle ended today when the diversion dam was completed last year. This is a big help for us to effectively and efficiently use the water for quality production," Olbes said. The Camam-onan Diversion Dam reuses water from Camam-onan Creek that traverses Sitio Egang to irrigate 17 hectares of rice lands. Three to four kilometers away is Kagbaye Diversion Dam that also reuses water from Cagbaye Creek that passes Sitio Hilamon to irrigate 30 hectares of farmlands. For the year 2019, a total of 12 diversion dams were constructed and rehabilitated and additional three irrigation systems are on-going for rehabilitation and improvement located at Loreto, Agusan del Sur, Tubod and Tagana-an, Surigao del Norte.