CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — About 600 hectares of rice farms in five villages of Mexico town in Pampanga suffered from lack of irrigation after strong rains last week destroyed an earth dike that farmers built to divert water from the Abacan River.
More than 40 men rushed to fill the 50-meter breach at the dike’s portion in Barangay Laput with sandbags and bamboo stacks since Saturday and work is half-done as of Wednesday.
The Pampanga Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) sent 5,000 empty sacks, a backhoe, and diesel to speed up the work, according to Vice Governor Dennis Pineda, who is also PDRRMC vice chair.
Around 400 farmers are saving rice plants in the villages of Laput, Concepcion, Balas, San Carlos, and Sto. Rosario from drying up, said Roland Gonzales, a farmer-leader. /kga