NIC Invests in Canal Repairs and New Pipelines to Ease Drought Pressure on Farmers

The National Irrigation Commission (NIC) will carry out roughly 700 metres of canal rehabilitation and replace about 1,400 metres of pipeline as it steps up efforts to cope with dry weather and keep irrigation flowing to farmers.

Rohan Stewart, Director of Engineering and Technical Services at the NIC, said the new piping should stop water escaping through leaks and give farmers and other users a steadier supply. He outlined the agency's drought-response plans during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Think Tank held at the NIC Television Department in Kingston on Wednesday, July 1.

Mr. Stewart explained that the commission treats its network as one connected system when managing drought and limited water availability. "We try as much as possible not to have one source in supplying an area," he said.

He added that the NIC also works with outside bodies that can help it stay in touch with the people it serves.

Christeen Forbes, the NIC's Public Education Specialist, said these drought measures sit within the Government's wider push to respond to climate change. The goal, she said, is to keep farmers and other customers supplied even when available water drops.

"There are long-term and the short-term drought mitigation strategies. There are things that the Government is doing on a larger scale, and there are things that our farmers need to do to ensure that we can mitigate the impacts of this drought, and we don't have to be dealing too much with scarcity in food production," Ms. Forbes pointed out.

The NIC is also calling on farmers to play an active role by saving water, especially when supplies run short. "Not just our customers, but farmers in general… need to utilise water very efficiently. We are partnering with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and other State agencies to get to [them] and say, 'we need to do better at what we do'. So, in the case of a drought or some other event, [where] we are providing you with the water, use it as efficiently as possible," Mr. Stewart said.