BBM pushes solar-powered irrigation program

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

- HELEN FLORES

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.