Marcos inaugurates solar-powered irrigation system

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated on June 10 the Cabaruan Solar-Powered Pump Irrigation Project (SPIP) in Quirino, Isabela, an initiative he tagged as a «game changer» that could help address rising energy costs and provide more water supply to farmlands.

The Cabaruan SPIP is the biggest solar-powered pump irrigation project in the Philippines and is expected to irrigate 350 hectares of rice fields, benefiting almost 237 farmers.

In his speech, Marcos said the SPIP is only one of the many projects his administration has in place aimed at further developing the agriculture sector in the Philippines.

«If before we used machines run by oil to make water flow from the irrigation canal to the land you till, now we will use the power of the sun. It's free power from the sun, reason we can provide free water for irrigation,» the President said in Filipino.

He further said that apart from the little to no cost of energy, farmers would have more areas to plant rice and other grains as the solar panels are directly placed above the irrigation canals.

The Chief Executive reiterated anew that agriculture is one of his administration's top priorities and that he would ensure that the country will be self-sufficient in terms of agricultural products and to avoid a similar incident where the country was confronted by various challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

«We really should develop the agriculture sector, and we all know that the most important aspect is to increase the yield of our farmers and that will happen with efficient irrigation,» he said.

The SPIP allows farmer-beneficiaries to decrease their electricity or fuel expenses by minimizing the use of electric or fuel-powered pumps and increase agricultural production with the ample supply of water coming from it.

The Cabaruan SPIP is a project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) under the Mangat River Integrated Irrigation System. It was constructed from July 6, 2023 to February 2024 with a total project cost of P65.77 million.

It is the first SPIP in the country to be constructed over an irrigation canal, which relieved farmers from donating a portion of their property. It