The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) said on Thursday it is set to develop a database on all small-scale irrigation projects (SSIPs) established all over the country.
The attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said conducting an inventory of SSIPs nationwide will help the government track these SSIP investments nationwide and help facilitate the identification of landholdings suitable for crop production.
BSWM Director Silvino Q. Tejada said the database will be made available to the public to serve as reference material for research studies conducted by academe, the government and other stakeholders.
“Our goal is to continuously promote advancement in our projects for the sake of the future generation. Through this database, research and development studies, and other related documents will be made available through Web access by the stakeholders,” Tejada added.
He also said the project will improve and intensify the DA’s campaign for transparency.
Tejada added that island-wide consultations with representatives from the DA regional offices, state universities and colleges, and other stakeholders have already been conducted by the BSWM in Davao, Cebu and Quezon City for the compilation and development of the database.
The BSWM is targeting to complete the database by the last quarter of the year. The agency allotted P1 million for the project.
SSIPs are irrigation infrastructures with limited service areas, constructed within 180 days in locations where permanent or continuous water sources are not available.
These SSIPs refer to small water-impounding projects, small diversion dams, shallow tube wells and small farm reservoir, which provide irrigation in times of drought.
The BSWM said SSIPs are seen to have a “significant effect” on cropping intensity, rice productivity, farm income and employment.
