By Julio P. Yap, Jr.
The “first and biggest” solar-powered irrigation system in Luzon was completed in Llanera, Nueva Ecija following its successful initial testing conducted last Friday.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) implemented the Caridad Norte and Sur Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS), which is a pilot project of the DA Regional Field Office 3 (DA-RFO 3) to enhance and sustain rice production in the highland rainfed areas of the municipality.
The project was realized through the efforts of DA-RFO 3 Regional Executive Director Roy M. Abaya and DA-RFO 3 Assistant Regional Director for Operations & Extension Crispulo G. Bautista, Jr., and constructed and installed by Bacolod City-based R.U. Foundry and Machine Shop Corporation (RUFMSC).
Some 125 rice farmers who are members of the Caridad Norte and Sur Irrigators Association (CNSIA) are expected to benefit under the SPIS.
The facility is composed of 140 Lorentz solar panels, a 40-horsepower Lorentz submersible pump, state-of-the-art electronic control devices, highly reliable flow meter gauge, concrete storage tank, and irrigation distribution pipelines.
The photovoltaic (PV) panels were installed on precision-engineered aluminium frames to withstand extreme weather conditions, which were anchored on dependable concrete posts.
With a cost of some P7 million, the solar-powered irrigation facility is expected to supply the water needs to irrigate some 50 to 70 hectares of ricelands, in a rotation basis, in the barangays of Caridad Norte and Caridad Sur, which formerly depended on rainwater only.
In areas like the two barangays, solar-powered irrigation facilities are increasingly and continuously in demand in order to provide a cost-effective and practical solution to boost agricultural productivity.
Access to irrigation water is the key for many small-scale farmers in order to sustain their livelihoods and attain food security.
In most agricultural areas of the country, particularly those in the countryside, the availability of irrigation water depends mostly on monsoon rains or power needed to operate water pumps.
With lack of electricity, diesel-operated water pumps are usually used to pump water for irrigation purposes.
However, the use of diesel-powered engines has several disadvantages like the ever-increasing prices of fuel which directly affects the economic success of the farmers, and of course, its effect on the environment.
Solar-powered irrigation systems are designed to help farmers in the remote areas to irrigate their farmland, which will eventually increase their production during the dry months.
(The Caridad Norte and Sur Solar Irrigation System is found in Llanera, Nueva Ecija, and described by the Department of Agriculture as the ‘first and biggest’ of its kind in Luzon. Julio P. Yap Jr.)
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