MANGATAREM, Pangasinan — Government officials and representatives of seven irrigators' associations inspected Pacalat Dam in Mangatarem, Pangasinan, in a checkup focused on securing a steady supply of irrigation water for the municipality's farming communities.

The inspection brought together Pangasinan Rep. Mark O. Cojuangco, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Pangasinan Irrigation Management Office Division (PIMO) Manager John N. Molano, municipal government representatives, and leaders of seven Barangay Irrigators Associations. The NIA is the government agency mandated to develop and manage irrigation systems nationwide, and its field offices coordinate directly with farmer groups and local governments to keep facilities operational.

Discussions centered on the dam's condition, its role in agricultural productivity, and irrigation concerns that require coordinated action between government agencies and local communities.

For farmers in Mangatarem, reliable irrigation translates into productive fields, better crop yields, and protected livelihoods. Keeping irrigation facilities in good working condition is therefore critical to sustaining agricultural production in the municipality. The context is broader: Pangasinan is a rice-growing province and one of the country's leading producers of palay, or unmilled rice, making dependable irrigation a key input to farm output across its towns.

The participation of the seven irrigators' associations underscored the importance of farmers' voices in identifying problems, raising community needs, and helping shape solutions. Irrigators' associations are farmer organizations that partner with the NIA in operating and maintaining irrigation systems, giving growers a direct channel for raising issues on the ground. Closer coordination among farmer-beneficiaries, the NIA, and the local government is essential to keeping irrigation systems functional and water flowing to farmlands.

The NIA-PIMO continues to work with local officials and irrigators' associations to support the maintenance and improvement of irrigation facilities. For Mangatarem's farming communities, the measure of these coordination efforts will be whether the dam continues to deliver the steady irrigation supply the checkup was meant to secure.

NIA Region 1 Regional Manager Geffrey B. Catulin emphasized that sustained attention to irrigation infrastructure is vital to keeping Mangatarem's farms productive, strengthening agricultural communities, and safeguarding farmers' livelihoods.

— Artemio A. Dumlao

Source: BusinessWorld