DA spending P5 billion yearly for solar-powered irrigation

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) aims to spend at least P5 billion annually for the construction of solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) nationwide to boost rice productivity and mitigate adverse impacts of El Niño.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the department is intensifying its efforts in providing farmers with small-scale irrigation systems amid prolonged dry spell experienced by the country.

“We are prioritizing (the construction of] small-scale irrigations, including solar-powered, because they are easier to manage and could help [our farmers) in problems like El Niño,” De Mesa told reporters in an interview on Monday.

“Solar irrigation projects are one of our primary solutions to address the problems posed by El Niño,” the DA spokesperson said.

The annual allocation would be able to construct between 500 units and 1,000 units at a cost range of P5 million to P10 million, according to De Mesa.

He added that the smaller SPIS is capable of irrigating up to eight hectares of land, while the larger ones could service 20 to 30 hectares of farms.

The agriculture official noted that the budget would be a mix of official development assistance (ODA) and state financing through the General Appropriations Act.

President Marcos earlier disclosed that the national government plans to irrigate 180,000 hectares of rice land through SPIS, which would translate to an additional production of 1.2 million metric tons of palay.

Former Agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol lauded President Marcos and the current DA leadership for making the construction of SPIS as one of the department’s banner programs.

During his stint as agriculture chief, Piñol pushed for the construction and use of SPIS nationwide to provide the necessary water supply to the country’s rice farms.

“With the Presidential declaration on the adoption of the solar-powered irrigation system as a major program of the DA to boost rice production, the country’s farmers could now expect the realization of the dreamed sufficient supply of water through agricultural technology,” he said in a recent Facebook post.