A new irrigation facility is hoped to enhance food production that complements the ever-growing tourism industry in Loboc. The essential farm system, including its lining canal, was inaugurated on Friday led by National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Regional Manager Diosdado Rosales. It benefits the rice farmers in barangay Bagumbayan where agriculture is a main job and livelihood generator. Vice Mayor Louie Digal said irrigation is one way to improving farm harvest and, therefore, responding to the increasing food demand of tourism industry.

Tourism is a major economic modifier in Loboc.

Digal said the irrigation project got P1.2 million from Third District Rep. Arthur Yap, although the farmers likewise thanked the vice mayor for helping them address their concern. Yap, whose wife is a Lobocanon, is a former agriculture secretary. An additional allocation of P1 million is expected next year to further develop the irrigation facility, the vice mayor said. Rosales committed the amount during the blessing and inauguration. Digal said that while improving farm capacity can complement with tourism as in the case of his town, the farmers and their families to be its direct and immediate beneficiaries is inarguable. Bohol-wide, agricultural enhancement for food self-sufficiency right in the household level is a focal thrust of Gov. Edgar Chatto. The Department of Agriculture reported a dramatic 21% rice production in Bohol, reaffirming the province’s tag as the food bowl in Central Visayas.