Dry spell hits 150 hectares of rice fields in Albay town

A dried up rice field in Oas town, Albay.
INQUIRER PHOTO/MICHAEL B. JAUCIAN/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

OAS, Albay –– About 150 hectares of rice fields covering five villages of this town have dried up because of water shortage from irrigation canals.

Engineer Larry Gorgonia, acting manager of the National Irrigation Administration for Albay and Catanduanes, said the Cabilogan San Juan River Irrigation System relied on the river and rain, but no heavy rains came for almost three months.

About 60 farmers from the villages of San Isidro, Talongog, Ubaliw-Rinas, Bongoran, and San Juan were affected by the water shortage.

Gorgonia said they would build earth canals and divert water from the Pantalan creek to address the problem.

“The farmers are very much affected and they have spent too much already. As you can see, the soil has dried up and the planted rice is already close to dying,” said Gemma Copino, village councilor of San Isidro.

Copino said they have been experiencing water shortage for more than a year now.

Che Rebeta, Albay agriculturist, said that if the water scarcity worsens, they would resort to rotational water distribution and cloud seeding.

“We will advise farmers to adjust the cropping calendar and use early maturing and drought-resistant variety (of rice),” she said./lzb