Cavite farmers receive worth of total ₱12 million of the solar-powered irrigation system in the turnover at Cavite.
The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently turned over two units of solar-powered irrigation system (SPIS) worth ₱6 million each to Cavite farmers to have access to a sustainable source of water for their crops.
Danilo Arnes, the president of Tres Cruses Agrarian Reform Beneficiary and Farmers Association, Inc. said the SPIS would help them plant because of irrigation water for their crops.
On the DAR’s website, Danilo Arnes said that using solar energy is environmentally friendly and provides farmers with a reliable source of water for their palay (unhusked rice) and high-value crops.
“I was talking to market vendors, they said they would buy our vegetables because it is clean as compared to rain-fed or vegetables that were irrigated from the creek,” he added.
Arnes proudly expressed the association's gratitude with being provided with the SPIS and assured the department that they will preserve and properly use the SPIS.
During one of the Cabinet meetings with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III noted that one of the department's main objectives was to provide irrigation.
DAR Undersecretary for Support Services Office Atty. Milagros Isabel A. Cristobal responded to this by immediately turning over two SPIS worth a total of ₱12 million to Tres Cruses agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARB) and Farmers Association Inc.
The SPIS, situated in Sitio Gugo, Brgy Tres Cruzes, Tanza, and Brgy. Baliwag, Magallanes, Cavite, was implemented in partnership with the National Irrigation Administration.
“You should take care and be responsible for this project because not all agrarian reform cooperatives are given the opportunity to be provided with it,” Cristobal said.
DAR-Cavite Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II James Arthur T. Dubongco noted that the SPIS offers a viable, low-tech energy solution for irrigated agriculture.
He said the project also provides a reliable source of energy in remote areas, contributing to rural electrification, reducing energy costs for irrigation, and enabling low-emission agriculture.
“SPIS runs on solar energy, so that bringing water to farmlands will be much more affordable than the traditional diesel and gasoline-powered engine pumps,” Dubongco added.
The project can irrigate 32 hectares of agricultural lands primarily benefitting 34 ARB households and other neighboring farmers.
Tags: #ARBs, #DAR, #solar power