By Manny Balbin/PNA
CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) is set to release irrigation water supply to Bulacan and some of Pampanga farmlands starting on January 10.
Larry Ballesteros, NIA Bulacan manager, said on Saturday the cut-off period for the release of irrigation water is set on May 15, 2019.
“An estimated 26,000 of farmlands are expected to be irrigated in Bulacan and some parts of Pampanga,” Ballesteros said in a media interview.
Bulacan farmers noted that first to benefit from the irrigation supply are farmlands near the Bustos Dam which releases the water to the irrigation canals slicing through different farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga.
Farmlands that are located in tail-end sections of the NIA irrigation canals are expected to start land preparations by February.
The NIA cut off the irrigation water supply on Oct. 31, 2018 due to the construction of a project that will benefit 90 percent of farmers in Bulacan and some areas in Pampanga.