To cushion the adverse effects of the dry season, the local government of this municipality has started procuring drilling machines for shallow tube wells and allotted a backhoe for the desilting of small farm reservoirs (SFR) and diversion dams.

“Every year, we conduct rehabilitation of SFR and there is a backhoe on standby for any farmer organization’s request,” Engr. Erickson Biag, the town’s agriculturist, told the Philippine News Agency on Thursday.

An SFR is a small earth dam structure used to collect and store rainfall and runoff for irrigation.

Currimao town is among those affected by last year’s drought, but with the government’s intervention and support to farmers, its impact on farmers’ livelihood was minimized.

Based on the latest assessment conducted by the Municipal Agriculture Office, the small water impounding dams and the diversion dams of the municipality still have enough water to irrigate farmlands.

“We still have enough water to last until the harvesting period of April,” Biag said.

To help boost the livelihood of farmers and fisherfolk, the Currimao government has been distributing various agricultural inputs to registered farmers and fishers.

With funds sourced from the municipality’s share in tobacco excise tax, a total of 857 local farmers received tarp, drying net, fertilizer, hybrid rice, soil conditioners and pesticides on Wednesday.

To complement this, the Department of Labor and Employment, in partnership with the Ilocos Norte government, also gave water pumps with hoses to farmers’ organizations in addition to a harvester from Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization.

The ceremonial distribution of these units of farm machinery and other farm inputs was led by Currimao Mayor Edward Quilala, who told the farmers that the local government is “dedicated to providing the resources” they need. (PNA)