URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan — National Irrigation Administration 1 (Ilocos) manager, Vicente Vicmundo, has proposed the establishment of an additional irrigation management office for Pangasinan to speed up the implementation of irrigation projects in the province.
Vicmundo said Monday the execution of irrigation projects is affected by the province’s geography and demographics.
Pangasinan has a low percentage of irrigation development because of its size, as compared to the three other provinces of the Ilocos region – Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union.
“Aside from the distance, traffic in some cities is also a factor for the delay of some projects,” Vicmundo said, as he further elaborated how project executors spend an ample amount of time travelling from Urdaneta City, where the NIA office is located, to other towns and cities of the province.
He recommended that Pangasinan have two irrigation management offices for the western and eastern parts of the province. The western office will serve Districts 1, 2, and 3 while the one in the eastern part will be for Districts 4, 5, and 6.
“The western part will cover 89, 000 hectares and the eastern part, 92, 000 hectares,” Vicmundo said.
Pangasinan has a total of 181,000 hectares of irrigable land.
“The total irrigable land of La Union, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur combined cannot surpass that of the land area of Pangasinan,” said Vicmundo.
He added that if the NIA head office approves the proposal, an improved, faster and more efficient project implementation of irrigation projects can be expected by farmers in Pangasinan. (Hilda Austria/PNA)
