Better Late Than Never! NIA Builds Sabo Dams, Solar Irrigation Systems

The National Irrigation Administration, now headed by one of the country’s outstanding Mayors, will focus its resources on building more Sabo Dams and Solar Powered Irrigation Systems as the country is threatened by another El Niño.
Former Piddig, Ilocos Norte Mayor Eddie Guillen, the new NIA Administrator, said that he has received a commitment from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for funds support to undertake the construction of more mini-dams and SPIS.
Sabo Dams are Japanese designed levees constructed in small rivers and creeks to hold run-off water and divert this to the nearby farms.
The increased level of water in the rivers and creeks also replenishes the aquifers thus contributing to a stable ground water supply.
NIA, along with the Dept. of Agrarian Reform, was one of the agencies which adopted the Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems project introduced by the Dept. of Agriculture in 2017.
While the DA initiated SPIS construction in several parts of the country, lack of funds prevented it from implementing more SPIS projects all over the country.
Four years ago, the Israeli government offered a P44-B soft loan to the Philippine Government for the establishment of fully computerized Solar Irrigation Projects to cover 500,000 hectares but this was not acted on by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority.
In my last conversation with NIA Administrator Guillen, he said that he would take up with President Marcos the Israel loan offer to be able to fastrack the construction of more SPIS all over the country.
The Sabo Dams, he said, will be fully funded by the NIA as part of its program to build small reservoirs to provide water to farms located beside rivers and creeks.
While this initiative is decades late, it is still a great relief knowing that NIA is focusing on very doable projects which could provide immediate solution to the need of agriculture sector for water.
As they say, Better Late Than Never.
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