LAOAG CITY – The rice granary of Vintar in Ilocos Norte is bent on reclaiming its title as the country’s top rice producer with a multi-million flood control project that aims to re-channel the Bislak River and spare dikes and rice fields from further damage when it swells during a typhoon.

Funded by the Department of Public Works and Highways worth PHP80 million under the General Appropriations Act of 2021, Ilocos Norte first district engineer Venus Torio said in an interview Thursday the 507.2-meter river wall protection in Barangay Tamdagan, Vintar, Ilocos Norte has been completed on March 15, 2022.

“This will reduce the occurrence of flooding and provide a resilient guard against river overflow, protecting the residents of Barangay Tamdagan living near the Bislak River,” Torio said

The project is among the 2,587 flood mitigation structures built by the Duterte administration under its “Build,Build, Build” program.

Torio said an additional PHP100 million is being proposed for 2023 to continue the flood control project from Vintar to its Bacarra town, which is the catch basin of the Bislak River.

In 2013 and 2014, the Department of Agriculture recognized Vintar as the country’s top rice producer under the municipal category for surpassing their play (rice) production target, attaining a higher average yield, and encouraging more farmers to use high-quality seeds.

Vintar is the largest municipality of Ilocos Norte in terms of land area, covering 624.85 square kilometers.

Majority of its irrigated and rain-fed farmlands are planted with rice but due to the onslaught of previous typhoons, palay output of the municipality has been significantly reduced. (PNA)

SOURCE: https://www.pna.gov.ph/