Leyte Farmers Turn Irrigation Canal Spaces Into Vegetable Gardens

Leyte rice farmers are planting vegetables along irrigation canals to help feed their families and earn extra income from their harvests.

Rolly Magallanes 5 days ago 4

Posted on October 23, 2026 at 09:20 PM

Leyte — Rice farmers in Leyte are growing vegetables along irrigation canals to earn extra income and help provide food for their families under a livelihood program of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

The `Gulayan sa Patubigan’ initiative encourages farmers to plant vegetables in available spaces beside irrigation canals, giving them another source of livelihood aside from rice farming.

President Ferdinand `Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. visited Leyte on October 23 and checked the Gulayan sa Patubigan exhibit, where members of local irrigators’ associations displayed their harvested produce.

The exhibit featured the government’s efforts to encourage farmers to grow other crops and find additional sources of income.

Victor Logas, chairperson of the Lakasmo Irrigators Federation of Agriculture Cooperative, said livelihood assistance and agricultural programs are helping rice farmers explore other ways to earn while supporting their cooperatives.

Logas said farmers are making use of available spaces beside irrigation canals, locally called “`”patubigan” to grow vegetables.

The cooperative has around 400 members and is part of a federation of six primary cooperatives.

Growing vegetables can also help farmers save on food expenses, especially when they use part of their harvest for household consumption. Those with surplus produce may sell it for extra income.

Aside from vegetable production, NIA has provided livelihood assistance, including cash incentives, to irrigators’ cooperatives to help them establish or expand agricultural businesses.

NIA Region 8 Regional Manager Jaime De Jesus said some livelihood initiatives also allow cooperatives to buy palay from fellow farmers and resell it.

He said the program is part of the government’s push for food self-sufficiency while helping farmers earn from other agricultural activities.

However, the actual income farmers earn from vegetable production, along with the number of members actively participating in the program, was not provided in the information available.

Farmers’ experiences, including their production costs, harvests and access to buyers, would help show how much the initiative has contributed to their livelihoods.

Photo courtesy: NIA8