The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has completed an irrigation project in Nueva Ecija that could irrigate more than 700 hectares of farmlands and benefit more than 200 families who make a living through farming.
In a statement, NIA said that despite the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was already able to finish the construction of the Upper Tabuating Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (Upper Tabuating SRIP) situated in Barangay Nazareth, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija.
The P878-million Upper Tabuating Small Reservoir Irrigation Project involves the construction of Earthfill Dam with a height above the lowest streambed of 25.56 meters and length of 760 meters, with a storage capacity of 4.96 million cubic meters.
The dam was able to irrigate the entirety of its target service area prior to its inauguration this month of May, NIA said.
The Upper Tabuating SRIP is expected to provide irrigation water to around 700.87 hectares of agricultural land which will benefit about 223 farm families distributed among the barangays of Nazareth, Rio Chico, Bago and San Mariano in the municipalities of General Tinio and Peñaranda in Nueva Ecija.
Further, the implementation of this project was carried out by NIA-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (NIA-UPRIIS) Division III, now headed by Acting Division Manager Elenita L. Toquero, under the leadership of UPRIIS Department Manager Rosalinda B. Bote.
Upper Tabuating SRIP is scheduled to hold its inauguration this May 25, 2021 to be attended by the NIA Top Management Officials, as well as the Nueva Ecija provincial and local government officials, and the project beneficiaries as represented by its Irrigators’ Association (IA) officials.
This is NIA’s third irrigation project to be inaugurated this year.
NIA Administrator Ricardo R. Visaya said the agency remains committed to its mandate of developing and maintaining irrigation systems in support of the agricultural program of the government.