By Manny Piñol
A Malacañang organized inter-agency group has endorsed the proposal of the Department of Agriculture to build 6,200 units of Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems all over the country to be funded by an Israeli loan of P44-B payable in 10 years.
It marked the first major positive breakthrough in the program of the DA to adopt the Israeli technology on Solar Irrigation and Fertigation which transformed the desert nation into a top agricultural producer in the world.
The Solar Irrigation Project Proposal submitted by the Israeli government-backed corporation includes a funding package of P44-B in a loan which will have a grace period of two years.
The Israeli company, LR Group, said that they will work with local civil works contractors to implement the SPIS with a technology which they said will increase rice production by at least 50% more of the current yield per hectare.
On Wednesday, April 10, representatives of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, National Irrigation Administration and the Presidential Management Staff gathered in the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the DA Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE) presented the SPIS and its benefits to the country’s food security program, especially rice production.
BAFE Director Engr. Cristy Pulido emphasized that the proposed SPIS projects will irrigate 500,000 hectares of rice, corn and high value crops.
The Solar Irrigation Project will also prepare the country for the next El Niño which is expected to hit the country three years from now based on its current pattern of occurence.
PMS acting chief Undersecretary Ferdinand Cui expressed full support for the proposed project which was also endorsed by NIA Administrator Ricardo Visaya.
In fact, Adm. Visaya said the NIA has also adopted the Solar Powered Irrigation System in some of its irrigation projects.
The NEDA representative asked that the proposal be prepared and submitted at the soonest possible so that it could be forwarded to the next level.
During the meeting, it was recommended that DA and its bureaus BAFE and the Bureau of Soil and Water Management, will conduct a planning workshop with NIA to identify all irrigable areas in the country which could be utilized for food production.
The agencies will meet after the Holy Week to draft the National Irrigation Master Plan to complement the existing program of NIA.
The agencies will then present the proposal to the NEDA which will submit it for review and approval of the NEDA-ICC.
All the participants in Wednesday’s meeting agreed that the SPIS proposal must be fasttracked so that if it is approved by NEDA-ICC, it could be included in the 2020 budget of the DA.
(Photos by DA RAFID 2 and Diane Faith Garcia.)
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