Picturan, Palakpakan, Nalimutan! Israel Offer Of P40-B Soft Loan For Solar Irrigation Still In Limbo

Early in 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte approved my request to negotiate for a loan grant with the Israeli Government to fund the establishment of Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems (SPIS) to cover an estimated 500,000 hectares.

I proposed the loan from Israel because the Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) Program which was adopted by the Department of Agriculture in 2017 did not get funding in the GAA of 2019.

Sa tulong ng dati Ambassador ng Israel to the Philippines, Rafael Harpaz, at ng isang Israeli agricultural company, LR Group of Israel, mabilis naming na-package ang loan agreement at sinusportahan ito ng gobyerno ng Israel.

Mahal ng mga Israeli ang Pilipinas sapagkat kinupkop ng ating bansa ang mga Jewish refugees noong World War II kaya madaling inaprubahan ang loan proposal na tinatayang aabot ng P40-B.

The 40-B would be used to establish modern Solar Irrigation and Fertigation Projects to irrigate an estimated 500,000-hectares for rice, corn, sugarcane and high value crops.

The LR Group of Israel designed a digitally interconnected system which would allow a central office to monitor the performance of each and every unit of SPIS.

Hiningi ko sa LR Group that to show goodwill, magpatayo sila sa Lumban, Laguna ng 2 units of SPIS, one using a fertigation system where fertilizer is automatically mixed with irrigation water, for an area of at least 60 hectares and a smaller unit to replace the shallow tube wells of farmers which use diesel engines costing them P15,000 per hectare per year.

Natapos agad ang 2 demo units while at the same time, sa utos ng Malacañang, binuo ko ang committee composed of different agencies of government – NEDA, DOF, DBM, NIA, BSWM – upang mabalangkas ang National Irrigation Program.

When I resigned as Agriculture Secretary and moved to the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), I was no longer updated on the progress of the loan package which was forwarded to the NEDA-ICC.

I, however, saw a photo dated Oct. 28, 2019 showing Ambassador Harpaz with officials of LR Group during the turn-over of the two SPIS units donated by LR Group witnessed by Sen. Cynthia Villar, Sec. William Dar and other officials.

It has been over two yeas since the DA-led committee convened and made recommendations but nothing had been heard of about the loan offer.

While our farmers are benefiting from sufficient precipitation now brought about by La Niña which would last for about two years, nobody knows when the next El Niño would hit the country.

God forbid but when that happens, our farmers will suffer again.

Sana pagkatapos ng picture taking at palakpakan, dapat tutukan at tapusin.

#FailingToPrepareIsDisaster!