Santiago. Problems with water to irrigate the land are causing damage to agricultural production in communities in the provinces of Santiago and Valverde.
The complaint was made by agricultural producers from Pontón, in Santiago, Peñuela, Jicomé and Esperanza, in Valverde, who asked the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), who say that 60 thousand tasks with an agricultural vocation are affected by the lack of liquid.
Among the most affected are tobacco, banana, plantain and onion producers.
In this regard, they are calling for the intervention of the irrigation board in La Peñuela to find a solution to the problem.
Jorge Saint-Hilaire and Leonel Pérez, representing the producers, question the fact that despite the fact that both the Ulises Francisco Espaillat irrigation canal and the dam are working at full capacity, they have gone two months without watering their crops, due to the poor distribution of water by the irrigation board.
“It is not possible that the irrigation canal has enough water, but they do not give us a drop. This situation has been going on for months and we are losing more than 60 thousand acres planted with different crops,” said Leonel Pérez.
In this regard, he calls on the INDRHI administration to intervene in the irrigation board, due to its poor management of water distribution for agricultural production.
“This irrigation board is bankrupting those of us who produce bananas, rice, onions and all the basic products consumed by the Dominican people,” said Pérez during the demonstration.
Of the 60,000 tasks, he indicated that more than 21,000 were affected by the drought.
Jorge Saint Hilaire, who is dedicated to tobacco production, said that they are going through a very precarious situation due to the problems with water due to the poor management of the irrigation board.
On more than one occasion, agricultural producers have complained about the inadequate management of the irrigation board in the distribution of water for agricultural plantations in communities in the Cibao.
