LUPAO, Nueva Ecija – A total of 918.54 hectares of agricultural land gets irrigation from the Balbalungao Small Reservoir Irrigation Project (SRIP) here benefiting 538 farmers.
The National Irrigation Administration-Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (NIA-UPRIIS) said the project harnesses the impounded waters of the Balbalungao River in Barangay San Isidro and serves the farming communities of Balbalungao, San Isidro, Salvacion, and Mapampang, all in Lupao.
During the 2022 wet cropping season alone, the dam’s partial operation had already provided irrigation to 676.44 hectares, yielding 3,159.80 metric tons of rice.
By 2025, rice production in the project’s service area reached 3,192.80 metric tons during the first dry cropping season and 3,628.50 metric tons during the wet cropping season.
By contrast, a communal irrigation system established in 1960 served only 219 hectares during the wet cropping season and 80 hectares during the dry cropping season, highlighting the expanded irrigation coverage provided by the SRIP.
Aside from irrigation, improved road access has made it easier for farmers to transport harvested crops from their farms to markets, according to leaders of the San Isidro-Balbalungao Irrigators’ Association, Inc., headed by its president Luzviminda Isalmo.
The improvements have also encouraged farmers to retain their farmlands and continue cultivating them, helping sustain their agricultural livelihoods.
Association vice president John Gonzales expressed appreciation for the project and urged future generations to value and protect the dam, which farmers regard as an inheritance that should be safeguarded for years to come.
The Balbalungao Earthfill Dam and its appurtenant structures were constructed in 2020 and inaugurated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Dec. 13, 2023.
With the country’s preparations for El Niño, irrigation facilities such as the Balbalungao Dam remain important in managing water resources for agricultural production. Photo: NIA-UPRIIS