JICA completes rehab of 3 Pampanga dams

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese government has completed the rehabilitation of three dams in Pampanga that are expected to boost rice production in the province.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan’s bilateral aid agency, and the National Irrigation Administration recently turned over a newly rehabilitated irrigation system consisting of three dams in Pampanga.

The Porac-Gumain River Irrigation System is a subcomponent of the 6.2 billion yen (P2.84 billion) National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (NISRIP) of JICA and NIA in collaboration with the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

The project targets to improve the country’s rice production and contribute in ensuring food security.

The Porac-Gumain system is the sixth rehabilitated irrigation system that the project has completed to date.

It is seen helping more than 4,000 farmers in the municipalities of Lubao, Floridablanca, Guagua and Sta. Rita in Pampanga that had water source problems due to Mt. Pinatubo eruption and watershed denudation.

“This facility will be a great help to the agriculture sector in Pampanga dealing with the pandemic and climate change issues like water shortage and drought,” JICA Philippines chief representative Eigo Azukizawa said.

“When we improve the production capacities of farmers, then we will also see improvement in food supply and reduced hunger,” he said.

NIA-Central Luzon regional manager Josephine Salazar said that Pampanga has the highest irrigation development in the region from being a lahar province in the past.

The NISRIP is one of JICA’s key projects to support Philippine agriculture. Its components include rehabilitating irrigation facilities, institutional strengthening of irrigators’ associations, and agricultural support.

Apart from Pampanga, the NISRIP project sites in the Philippines are located in Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, Quezon, Palawan, Iloilo, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and Agusan del Sur.