DILI, january 24, 2023 (TATOLI)- The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF) built two new irrigation systems in the municipalities of Baucau and Lautém with a total fund of $18 million.
National Director of Irrigation, Martinho Laurentino Soares said the two new irrigations are located in Laivai district, Lautém municipality, and Galata village in Venilale district, Baucau.
“In 2022, we have built two large irrigation works, the funds for this construction are from the infrastructure fund, irrigation in Lautém is valued at more than $ 7 million while for Galata Baucau it costs more than $ 11 million,” the National Director of Irrigation, Martinho Laurentino Soares told Tatoli at MoAF’s office, Comoro, this tuesday.
He explained that irrigation in Lautém would cover 350 hectares of rice fields including abandoned land, while Galatan Baucau covered over 800 hectares.
The director also informed that in 2022, MAP would not have much rehabilitation on irrigation due to budget shortages, the projects that have so far been running use the remaining budget from eight irrigation projects from 2021.
“The remaining budget from 2021 is more than $ 3,000 which we will use to rehabilitate several irrigation systems in Bobonaro (Atabae), Ermera (Atsabe), and Manufahi,” he said.
He also said that his part is responsible for the rehabilitation and construction of irrigation so that MoAF can facilitate farmers’ cultivation activity on land productivity.
“We are only responsible for guaranteeing the infrastructure so that the land is more productive but whether to farm or not is entirely the decision of the farmers,” he said.
In 2023, MAP has prepared proposals for several new irrigation schemes in Baucau, Bobonaro, and Viqueque, but the process itself will take a long time as it has to wait for analysis from the National Development Agency (NDA), the Secretariat for Major Projects and the National Commission for Procurement (NPC) prior to tendering.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia B.
