THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it recently commissioned the fourth unit of the solar-powered irrigation system (SPIS) in the Central Mindanao University (CMU) compound in Musuan, Maramag, in Bukidnon.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the SPIS of the CMU was built a cost of P8.2 million and was completed in 10 months. It was designed to irrigate 66 hectares.
“The [CMU SPIS] has a development cost of P124,000 per hectare, much lower than the usual development cost of up to P450,000 per hectare under the conventional irrigation systems,” Piñol said in a Facebook post.
He said the irrigation coverage area will be developed for hybrid rice production, which will also serve as a learning center for students and farmers in Northern Mindanao.
Unlike the previous SPIS units which draw water from creeks and rivers, Piñol said the CMU unit sources its water supply from an underground spring.
Farmers from Northern Mindanao, who attended the commissioning and blessing ceremonies, requested for more SPIS units in their area during the open forum.
Since the SPIS was rolled out in March 2017, the DA has funded some 169 units of solar-powered irrigation systems all over the country.
In August Piñol said the Duterte administration would spend some P43.7 billion to irrigate an additional 500,000 hectares over the next four years through SPIS to improve farm productivity.
Piñol said the President vowed to allocate at least P43.7 billion for the construction of around 6,250 SPIS until the end of his term. An SPIS, which could irrigate an average of 80 hectares, costs about P7 million.
“The [2019] budget will only allow us to build 10 additional units,” he said. “I told the President that the DA will have to abandon some of its nonessential programs and realign the funds to the SPIS program for 2019, with a target of at least 100
additional units.”
The additional 500,000 hectares would be able to produce at least 2 million metric tons of rice, according to Piñol.