The Kinta Reservoir in Myittha Township, Kyaukse District, Mandalay Region, is a dam that supplies water to the cultivation of rice, rain-fed rice, and other crops every year and is a multi-purpose dam that benefits the region’s drinking water, environmental greening, and power generation. According to the Department of Irrigation and Water Utilization Management, the dam is supplying agricultural water to meet the target for crops.
In the three water intake systems of the Kinta Dam — the left canal, the right canal, and the Panlaung canal—83,427 acres of rain-fed rice and 13,382 acres of other crops have been earmarked to supply agricultural water. Since 20 June, the water distribution system has been carried out by group rotation, and until 10 September, 77,216 acres of rain-fed rice and 4,641 acres of other crops, totalling 81,857 acres, have been planted, meeting about 85 per cent of the targeted acres.
The current water storage capacity of Kinta Reservoir is 468,300 acre-feet, which is 110,000 acre-feet more than the same period last year in 2022, so it will be able to supply water to the acres earmarked for rain-fed crops without difficulty. Authorities are working with farmers who use the water to develop an irrigation system that can adapt to climate change in preparation for the situation where water may be scarce next year due to El Nino weather events; upgrade and maintain the irrigation system to reduce water losses; increase the productivity of a water unit by reusing water extracted from drainage canals as agricultural water; and perform effective and efficient water management activities. In addition, preparations are being made to successfully distribute agricultural water without any difficulties in the coming year of planting summer crops, like in previous years. — Maung Aye Chan/CT
