By Manny Piñol
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will prioritise rice farming communities in the provinces of Laguna and Rizal located around the lake, which at 91,000 hectares is the biggest inland body of water in the country, in the implementation of the Solar-Powered Irrigation Projects over the next three years.
I made this policy pronouncement yesterday in Lumban, Laguna after realising that most of the rice farming areas around the lake are still dependent on rainfall for their irrigation.
Those who could afford to buy diesel-powered water engine have to spend at least P15,000 in fuel costs per hectare per harvest to be able to irrigate their farms.
That would mean that if a farmer harvests 4 metric tons per hectare, one fourth of his harvest will have to be spent for irrigation leaving him with only 3 metric tons from which he will get his expenses for seeds, fertilisers and labor costs.
Flying over the Lake yesterday from Quezon City to Lumban to commission the first Solar-Powered Irrigation Project of the province, I saw once again the great ironies which stunted the growth of agriculture in this country.
With the start of the summer months, rice fields around the lake are brown, except for those who are about to harvest their crops.
The brown rice fields are tell-tale signs of areas which lack water, otherwise, the farmers would already be preparing the fields for another planting.
Yet, a few hundred meters away from their farms is a vast body of water and the only thing that is needed is a facility which would draw water and pump it up to the edges of the mountains surrounding the lake from where it would flow down and irrigate the fields.
Yesterday, I directed Southern Tagalog Region Director Arnel de Mesa to identify all areas around the lake which need the Solar-Powered irrigation System, including vegetable farms.
With the approval by President Rody Duterte of my proposal to undertake initial negotiations with the Israeli Government-supported Agro-Industrial companies for a P44-B solar irrigation program in the country, the areas around the Lake could be turned into a wide production area for rice and other crops.
In fact, with the availability of ground water and water from the lake, rice farmers in the area could plant as much as three times a year.
With no expense for diesel-engine powered water systems and with the support of the DA in the form of farm machinery, seeds, farm inputs and credit, farmers in this area which is so near to seat of power but so neglected in the past, will rise and be able to compete with their counterparts in the region.
(Photos of the turn over of the Lumban SPIS yesterday were taken by Gian Carlo Luague and Lito Degorio, DA AFID)
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