April 18, 2016, Bago City - The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region VI headed by Engr. Gerardo P. Corsiga, NIA-Negros Occidental Irrigation Management Office (NOIMO) headed by Engr. Lorena B. Sioco, Department of Agriculture (DA) Negros Island Region (NIR), Negros Occidental Provincial Government, and Bago City Government turned over farm machineries, equipment, and tools to Irrigators' Associations (IA) from the National Irrigation Systems (NIS) and Communal Irrigation Systems (CIS) within the Province of Negros Occidental in a Turn-Over Ceremony held at Manuel Y. Torres Memorial Coliseum and Cultural Center.
Representatives from 120 IAs from Bago River Irrigation System (BRIS), Pangiplan River Irrigation System (PRIS) and Communal Irrigation Systems (CIS) received Php3M worth of CY 2015 Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) Project from DA-NIR and Bago City Government and another Php3M CY 2015 Project Support from the Negros Occidental Provincial Government in the form of farm machineries and equipment. On top of this, 900 bags of certified seeds were also distributed to the farmers.
Present during said turn-over ceremony were the Province of Negros Occidental Governor Hon. Alfredo Marañon, Jr., Bago City Mayor Hon. Ramon D. Torres, Vice Mayor Hon. Nicholas M. Yulo, DA-NIR Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulation Joyce Wendam, and NIA Region VI Division Manager for Engineering and Operations Engr. Jesus L. Dato-on.
"Nagakalipay gid ako nga ari ako subong kaupod ninyo nga mga farmers. Kamo ang ginatawag nga mga unsung heroes of the nation kay kamo ang nagasuportar sa food security... Pauswagon ta pagid ang mga mangunguma sang humay diri sa Negros Island Region. Tagaan ta pagid sila sang dugang nga suporta paagi sa mga hybrid seeds kag mga bag-o nga farm implements para magdugang ang aton produkto sang humay. Kung magbuligay lang kita tanan, hapos lang ni ma achieve ang dako nga patubas sang humay kag iban pagid nga produckto sang agrikultura. I am happy to be with you, our farmers. You are the unsung heroes of the nation because you support food security... Let us support the progress of our farmers here in Negros Island Region. Let us provide them with additional support through hybrid seeds and new farm implements to increase rice production. If we help each other, it will be easy to achieve higher yield for rice and other agricultural products.", Gov. Marañon.
NIA Region VI and NIA NOIMO also turned over 10 pumps and engines as part of the agency's initiative towards El Niño adaptation and mitigation. This project aims to capacitate farmers with proper equipment to combat the erratic weather conditions that are felt around the country during the onslaught of El Niño phenomenon. The agency has already distributed hundreds of pumps and engines within the provinces of Panay Island since 2015 and it is the first time for the farmers of Negros Occidental to receive this support for CY 2016.
The NIA, through interagency collaborations, aim to help farmers become resilient to Climate Change as the impact of severe El Niño poses a threat to agricultural production and food security.
In photo: Hon. Victor V. Javellana, Board Member 4th District, Hon. Nicholas M. Yulo, Vice Mayor Bago City, (center) Hon. Alfredo G. Marañon, Governor, Negros Occidental, Ms. Rosemary R. Caunca, Provincial Consultant on Local Governance and Government Alliance for Agricultural Productivity, Hon. Ramon D. Torres, Mayor, Bago City, Mr. Rafael Luces, FIACN-BRIS, Vice President, Engr. Jesus L. Dato-on, Division Manager A, NIA Region VI, Dr. Joyce S. Wendam, Regional Technical Director, DA-NIR, Hon. Ma. Josefa G. Matti, Councilor, Bago City, and Hon. Allan C. Galunan, Councilor, Bago City, pose with Negros Occidental IAs with their farm machineries and equipment.
