Farmers in the Ponglak development village group located in Kasy district, Vientiane

province, will reap the results of  an  irrigation scheme that will  be  supplying water to local

farms by May.

          Director of the Sisaket Construction  and Irrigation Company,  Mr Phet  Sisaket, told

mediaon Tuesday the construction of a large  irrigation  canal will  be  carried   out  by  his

company  and local authorities at a cost of more than 14 billion kip.
          “Construction of the irrigation system will take about seven months to complete,”  he

said.
           He said with   the  new system in place  local  farmers  will  be  able  to  harvest  3-4

tonnes of crops per hectare.
          “Villages such as Phalak, where 90 percent of the 400 residents are returning illegal

migrants, will have enough rice to eat when  the new  irrigation system is  operational, ” Mr

Phet said.
          He said the 30 km long irrigation network will supply water to about 200 hectares  of

dry and wet season rice fields.
          District  Governor    Soulisack   Asakitikoun   said   farmers   are looking  forward  to

increasing yields of rice,  sweetcorn  and   other  vegetables to  guarantee a reliable  food

supply and earn more money for their families.
          Currently, many villagers in the Ponglak development group can plant crops only  in 

the rainy season as the fields don't have a consistent water supply, Mr Soulisack said.
          “Some residents, especially in Phator and Phonkham villages, do  not  have enough

food to eat, but we hope by 2010 this will be reversed and they will be selling their  surplus

crops to local and provincial markets,” he said.
          He said some families involved in livestock breeding are earning 10-20  million kip a

year, but average annual per capita income in the area is about 2 million kip.
          Mr Soulisack said in 2007 some irrigation canals were damaged and 80-85percent of

local farmers could grow only a total of 150 hectares of wet season rice.
          “The systems are now repaired and  we  expect farmers  will  plant  an  additional 50

hectares of crops this season,” he said.
          Next dry season district authorities will provide farmers with  new  commercial quality

rice varieties, such as TDK1. These varieties are  sturdy,  yield  bigger grains and produce

more rice using less water.
          The  Ponglak  development  village  group  consists  of  seven  villages  with a   total

population of 3,686 in 738 families. They come from various ethnic groups  and  most earn

their living from farming.
          The group includes Houaytangna, Houayphanla, Ponglak, Palak,  Pator,  Nalan  and

Phonkham villages