Marcos pushes solar-powered irrigation program

MANILA, Philippines — The government will undertake a nationwide solar-powered irrigation program to help achieve its goal of rice self-sufficiency, President Marcos announced yesterday.

During the ceremonial palay harvesting and distribution of various assistance to farmers in Barangay Mandili, Candaba, Pampanga, Marcos said the project is expected to add about 180,000 hectares of irrigable land or about 1.2 million metric tons (MT) in rice production.

“Because if we are talking about rice, irrigation is really an important factor so that all areas will have three cropping (cycles in a year),” he said, noting that the Philippines imports about 3.5 million MT of rice every year.

Marcos explained a solar-powered irrigation unit would be able to irrigate 20 hectares of farmland.

“We’re planning to install thousands of these and we’re thinking where to get it from our budget,” he said.

To increase rice production this year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has allotted P17 billion for the Philippine Solar Irrigation Project and P1.2 billion for the construction and improvement of small-scale irrigation projects, according to a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) yesterday.

Under the DA’s National Rice Program, a total of P31 billion was also allocated this year for various interventions, the PCO said.

The DA earmarked P10 billion under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of the rice industry through rice seed development and the provision of farm equipment, credit and extension services.

Marcos emphasized the secret to a bountiful rice harvest is irrigation.

“We’re just getting started. But that’s really the answer to our problems. Not only during typhoons, not only during El Niños, but also in the transportation of our crops,” the Chief Executive added.

Marcos said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. visited farmlands in Vietnam to learn from the country’s agriculture system ahead of his state visit on Jan. 29 to 30. Vietnam supplies around 90 percent of the Philippines’ rice imports.

A five-year rice deal was sealed during Marcos’ visit that guarantees a steady supply of affordable rice to the Philippines.

Marcos reassured the public that the government has readied assistance to areas that will be severely affected by the prevailing El Niño phenomenon.

Apart from improving the country’s irrigation system, Marcos said the country continues to develop drought-resistant crops as response to climate change.

Meanwhile, the DA has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry and the National Irrigation Administration to promote the Integrated Rice Supply Chain Development Program which will boost an efficient rice supply chain that will decrease costs and make rice affordable to the public.

The program also aims to foster alternative market access for both buyers and sellers that will help enhance farmers’ income through cooperation between different agencies in the production, classification, marketing and distribution of domestic rice.

Amid the challenges in the country’s agriculture sector, the Philippines was able to register a record-high rice production in 2023, according to Marcos. — Romina Cabrera