NINE irrigation projects have been turned over to Benguet farmers by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the provincial government.
The nine projects have a total cost of roughly P36 million, of which P27.9 million came from the NIA.
The remainder of P8.2 million was funded by the provincial government.
The irrigation projects cover a total of 205 hectares worth of farmland, serving some 310 farmers in the province.
The projects are also part of the NIA’s move to transfer smaller-scale irrigation projects to the authority, jurisdiction, and responsibility of local governments.
Earlier, the NIA announced that it would start devolving such small-scale irrigation projects to local authorities.
This means that the NIA will no longer be responsible for smaller irrigation projects, which first to fourth-class municipalities must now take charge of, both in maintenance and expansion of their irrigation networks.
However, the NIA will retain control of National Irrigation System facilities in fifth and sixth-class municipalities.
Previously, by the end of 2021, P35 million worth of irrigation projects from the NIA have been turned over to farmers and members of the Irrigators Association (IA) of barangay Wangal, Benguet.
