Bacolod City – The Rural Water Supply Program of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) received a big boost today as an expert on Ram Pumps agreed to introduce the technology to provide water to the vegetable-producing upland areas of Bukidnon.
Auke Idzenga, a Dutch Marine Engineer who retired in the Philippines over 30 years ago and married a Filipina from Negros Occidental is a world renowned expert on Ram Pump Technology building the mechanisms and parts of the system in a fabrication plant in Murcia town.
Ram Pumps technology was introduced 240 years in Europe and uses hydro-pressure to pump water up to a height of over 200- meters .
Idzenga, who speaks fluent Ilonggo, improved on the technology and introduced Ram Pumps to at least 15 countries around the world, including Afghanistan.
In the Philippines, the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc., a social enterprise owned by a General Assembly consisting of regular staff and some affiliates, has built aboit 1,000 units in remote rural areas in partnership with foreign governments and private companies like Coca Cola Philippines..
A ram pump can deliver from 10,000 to 100.000 liters per day, depending on the flow, head and delivery height.
A system can be just one pump but also several pumps in parallel or even series.
His efforts won for AIDFI the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2011.
Ram Pumps along with Solar Irrigation are being introduced by MinDA to the rural areas of Mindanao under a program which aims to provide water for irrigation and household use.
Ram Pumps are ideal in upland areas like Bukidnon with plenty of small rivers and creeks cascading from the mountains.
The pumps need a high water drop to create a pressure in the water tubes with valves strong enough to push water up to heights of up to 200 meters.
Next week, an AIDFI technical team will conduct a field inspection of probable Ram Pump sites in the towns of Talakag, Lantapan, Sumilao and Impasugong.
By providing water to the upland barangays, MinDA aims to increase agricultural productivity and provide safe drinking water.
#KungGustoMayParaan!
#GovernanceIsCommonSense!
(Photos show Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Auke Idzenga with MinDA officials and Talaandig tribal farmer Ryan Danio in the AIDFI compound in Murcia.)
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