Lake Danao water eyed for crops in Cebu town

Water from Lake Danao in Cebu is being eyed for irrigating crops in San Francisco town there, the provincial government said.

Initial results of experiments using the lake's water for crops yielded positive results, the provincial government added.


^{Lake Danao. Photo from Camotes Page Facebook.}

"The findings of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) said the lake water is not hazardous and even contains nutrients essential to plants," it said.

Capitol Agriculture Consultant UPLB Professor Emeritus Dr. Romulo Davide handed the results of the experiment to the National Irrigation Administration.

San Francisco has around 7,362.9493 hectares of agricultural land.

For his part, Mayor Aly Arquillano said they should take advantage of this major water source.

Potentially, he said there may be regular and increased production of the farm products.

Also, he said they could not afford to suffer the same fate when super typhoon Yolanda isolated Camotes Island in 2013, and they had to look for food for three days.

Worse, a storm warning signal prevented the transport of goods to the island before and after the onslaught of Yolanda, which left more than 6,300 dead, mostly in Eastern Visayas.

Feasibility study

Meanwhile, the NIA will conduct a feasibility study for possible irrigation project in the town.

But this early, Engineer Norma Monisit, acting division manager of NIA Bohol-Cebu, said getting an irrigation project is “feasible” with the lake water as the source.

But she added it may take two to three years before they could see completion of the project due to the usual processes.

Dr. Roldan Saragena, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office, said the investment would cost at least P500 million.

He cited an irrigation project in Carcar City, which costs almost P600 million.

Union Barangay Delfin Bensig said  the only problem they have is water as they cannot sustain their farms during a long drought. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News