Solar-powered irrigation to cost P60 billion yearly — DA

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) needs at least P60 billion yearly for the construction of solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) to help ensure sufficient rice supply in the country.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the government has commissioned its first fully operational P6.4-million solar-powered irrigation system in North Cotabato which could irrigate up to 40 hectares.

“The DA has shown that the SPIS works effectively and could be completed in just 60 days, compared to the 10 to 20 years needed to build big irrigation dams,” Piñol said.

“The key consideration here is the willingness of our government to invest in the SPIS which actually costs less per hectare compared to the conventional irrigation system. The government must allocate an estimate of least P60 billion every year for five years to achieve this,” he added.

The SPIS, one of DA’s flagship programs, aims to ensure sufficient rice supply in the coming years and could even result in surplus production in the country.

“With over two million hectares of rice farms in the country unserved by irrigation facilities, the SPIS — which could be installed in a period of 60 days, could help farmers plant twice a year instead of just once,” Piñol explained.

“This means that if farmers in these areas could harvest twice a year at an average of six metric tons per hectare instead of just four MT now, the country could produce an additional 16 MT of palay,” he added.

This would also translate to additional milled rice production of at least nine million MT per year.

A total of 116 units are now undergoing construction nationwide funded by the DA and implemented by different regional offices.

“At an average area of 40 hectares, the 116 SPIS set to be completed this year will irrigate an estimated 4,680 hectares this year alone,” Piñol said.

Constructed by RU Foundry of Bacolod City, the first SPIS draws water from a creek beside the former rain-fed rice farms using a 15-horsepower Lorentz surface pump from Germany.

Water is then pumped up to a reservoir capable of holding 350-cubic meters of water and then distributed to the rice fields using pipes with valve heads which are opened to irrigate the fields.