SANTA ANA, Cagayan — Rice farmers in this coastal municipality at the northeastern tip of Luzon may soon no longer have to wait for rain before planting, following the turnover of two newly inaugurated solar-powered irrigation projects that promise a more dependable water supply for their fields and possibility of increased harvests.

The two facilities, located in Sitio Ugudan and Barangay Visitacion, were formally turned over to their respective Irrigators’ Associations on Nov. 6. Each system is powered by 32 solar panels and can irrigate 15 hectares of farmland, directly benefiting 15 farmers per site.

Solar-powered irrigation uses photovoltaic panels to drive water pumps without reliance on grid electricity or fuel, an approach Philippine authorities have increasingly promoted to lower farming costs and bolster climate resilience. In the Philippines, where rice is the main staple grain, rain-fed farms are generally limited to a single cropping season each year, whereas irrigated fields can support two or even three plantings annually — a gap that has made irrigation development a recurring priority of government farm programs, since each additional cropping cycle means more rice from the same land and steadier income for smallholder households.

For farmers in Sitio Ugudan, the project could mark a major turnaround. Denton A. Agra, treasurer of the Ugudan Sta. Maria Irrigators’ Association, said they previously managed to plant rice only once a year because their farms depended heavily on rainfall.

The beneficiary farmers vowed to protect and properly maintain the facilities while ensuring fair water distribution among members.

Santa Ana Mayor Nelson P. Robinion, speaking through his representative Jovimar Castillo, assured continued cooperation between the municipal government and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the government agency responsible for irrigation development and management nationwide, to further support local farmers.

NIA-Visitacion Irrigation System head Rowila S. Macoco also called on the associations to safeguard the facilities and manage water equitably, especially amid the threat of El Niño, the periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that disrupts normal rainfall patterns and has historically brought drier-than-normal conditions to the Philippines.

NIA Region 2 regional manager Raymundo B. Apil emphasized “the projects form part of its continuing push for climate-resilient agriculture, reliable irrigation, and sustained food production.”

Beyond the installation of solar panels and pumps, the facilities are expected to give farmers greater control over their planting schedules, improve cropping opportunities, and strengthen their livelihoods against increasingly unpredictable weather conditions. With El Niño capable of delivering the drier-than-normal conditions officials cited, the associations’ maintenance and water-sharing commitments made at the turnover are likely to draw close attention in the planting seasons ahead.

— Artemio A. Dumlao, BusinessWorld

Source: BusinessWorld