New ‘controlled irrigation’ technology helps farmers

SCIENCE CITY OF MUNOZ, Nueva Ecija— Farmers in the country can now enjoy the benefits of controlled irrigation (CI) system known as Alternate Wetting and Drying, a technology being promoted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) based in this city.

PhilRice said the technology has helped farmers to efficiently manage water supply, avoid a weeklong water scarcity, and increase their yield.

“Farmers are no longer afraid of delayed water supply reaching six days after adopting CI,” said Edna Bantala, National Irrigation Association superintendent.

A water-saving technology, CI eases the farmers’ fear of water delay when the soil surface of their fields dries up. Through CI, irrigation is controlled through observation wells installed in the fields 15-20 cm below the ground.

The observation wells allow farmers to monitor the status of water in their field and help them determine the appropriate amount of water and timing of irrigation.

The CI system, which was initially introduced in Central Mindanao, registered an average yield of 4.5 tons per hectare across the demonstration sites in Central Mindanao while fields, wherein the technology is not practiced, only gained an average yield of 2.1 t/ha.

PhilRice said farmers who have adopted the system also integrated the technology with using newly released varieties, plastic drumseeder, and nutrient manager to further increase their yield.