After completing the construction of their own small farm reservoirs (SFRs), Ifugao, Antique, and Davao de Oro—the pilot provinces of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Project Local Adaptation to Water Access (LAWA)—will be able to deal with the possible effects of El Niño without too much difficulty.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Sunday, Dec. 31 said the SFRs will ensure these provinces have enough water supply to continue producing agricultural, farming, and fishery products despite the looming drought in the country.

The municipalities of Aguinaldo, Alfonso Lista, and Hungduan in Ifugao; Sebaste, Barbaza, and Sibalom in Antique; and Laak, Monkayo, and Compostela in Davao de Oro were specifically targeted due to the potential severity of El Niño’s impact in these areas.

Gatchalian said the cash-for-work (CFW) and cash-for-training (CFT) components of Project LAWA paved the way for the construction of the SFRs.

“The local residents themselves were engaged in Project LAWA and they helped in building these water reservoirs that will benefit their respective communities amid the possible impacts of a dry spell on their livelihood,” he said.

Under Project LAWA, residents in the pilot areas in the provinces were provided with financial support, through the DSWD’s CFW and CFT, in exchange for the work they rendered in constructing the alternative water resources.

“The Project LAWA aims to assist and protect poor and vulnerable communities from the impacts of the slow onset of the El Niño phenomenon by giving them sustainable water sources and additional income support,” Gatchalian said.

Project LAWA’s framework focused on the construction of small farm reservoirs strategically placed in selected towns for 15 days and constructed within a 20 by 25-square meter area with a maximum depth of 50 feet.

“These reservoirs are intended to serve as vital water sources for communities during periods of drought or dry spells. Aside from an alternative water source, it can also serve as ponds to breed and raise fish and irrigation for their agricultural products,” the DSWD chief said.

Likewise, more than providing a sustainable source of water supply, Project LAWA is one of the agency’s food security measures to achieve the goal of “walang gutom na pamilyang Pilipino” (no Filipino family will experience hunger) especially those coming from the Indigenous Peoples, farmers, fisherfolk, and women sectors, by making them productive, Gatchalian pointed out.

“With the availability of sustainable water supply through the SFRs, communities are able to plant more fruit-bearing trees, disaster resilient crops and vegetable, as well as implement aquaponics and aquaculture activities for their proper nourishments,” he added.

He said Project LAWA will be implemented nationwide in 2024, given the success of the pilot program.