DA NEEDS P44-B IN 3 YEARS
TO IRRIGATE 500K HECTARES
By Manny Piñol
Veruela, Agusan del Sur – The Department of Agriculture (DA) needs about P44-Billion over the remaining three years in the term President Rody Duterte to increase Agricultural Productivity, especially rice.
The amount could fund the construction of about 6,200 units of Solar Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) with an average coverage area of 80 hectares per system to irrigate 502,000 hectares.
Introduced to Philippine Agriculture as a production innovation, the SPIS Program was launched by President Duterte in M’lang, North Cotabato in March 2017.
The program, however, was not given enough funding in the 2018 and 2019 budget as it is considered a new concept.
Solar Irrigation, however, has long been used in Southern California, Israel, India and Pakistan.
In spite of limited funding, a total of 169 units of the SPIS have either been completed or under construction in the different parts of the country since its launching.
In the first few units which are now operational, rice yields increased from 4-metric tons to 6-metric tons per hectare and farmers are also able harvest twice a year.
This means that by irrigating 500,000 hectares, the country’s annual rice production could increase by 4-million metric tons of palay or 2.6-million metric tons of milled rice.
The country’s rice production is at 93% of the national consumption and about 1.5-million metric tons of rice have to be imported.
The total area planted to rice in the country is 3.9-million hectares with only 1.2-million hectares effectively irrigated where farmers could harvest twice a year.
The remaining 2.7-million hectares depend on the rain and the average yield is about 3-metric tons because of water issues.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) which is independent from the DA, handles the construction of big irrigation systems while the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, an agency of the DA, handles small irrigation systems.
The use of the Solar Powered Irrigation System is preferred by farmers over diesel engine powered water pumps because of the high cost of fuel.
Several lawmakers have already expressed their support for the SPIS and pledged to work for the allocation of funds for the program.
(This video was taken during today’s commissioning of the Sinobong SPIS in Veruala, Agusan del Sur )
https://fb.watch/aEHvp1jiF-/
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