More funds for solar-powered irrigation systems urged

Securing some P44 billion worth of investments in solar-powered irrigation systems (SPIS) over the remaining years of the Duterte administration will increase the agricultural sector’s productivity, especially rice, according to Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has adopted SPIS as one of its flagship projects. And according to Piñol, this amount of investment would be enough to bankroll the construction of about 6,200 units of SPIS that could irrigate half a million hectares of farm lands.

“This means that by irrigating 500,000 hectares, the country’s annual rice production could increase by four million metric tons of palay, or 2.6 million MT of milled rice,” 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,” Piñol earlier said on his Facebook page.

These irrigation systems can pump from 400 to 1,000 gallons of water a day for up to 150 ha of rice farms.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that out of the 3.9 million ha of rice farms nationwide, only 1.2 million ha benefit from communal irrigation systems that enable farmers to plant rice twice a year.

The rest of the 2.7 million ha are rain-fed, which means rice farmers can plant only once a year.

Currently, a total of 169 SPIS have been constructed all over the country.

For 2018, the National Irrigation Administration was given a budget of P40.8 billion, 6 percent more than the P38.3-billion budget in 2017.