The Bacolod City-based R.U. Foundry and Machine Shop Corporation (RUFMSC) has already turned over the Candaba Solar Irrigation Project, which will help sustain rice and vegetable production in Candaba, Pampanga.
In a statement, RUFMSC, which was tapped by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to construct and install the project, said the irrigation facility is now ready for turnover to the beneficiaries following the recent testing procedures conducted by the Agricultural Machinery Testing and Evaluation (AMTEC), the country’s premiere and reference testing center of agricultural and fisheries machinery.
The irrigation facility is composed of 108 high-performance solar panels, which were installed on precision-engineered aluminum frames that are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions.
The project includes a 25-horsepower Lorentz submersible pump, Lorentz electronic control equipment, concrete storage tank, control gauges, and distribution pipelines.
RUFMSC said the irrigation facility is capable of irrigating more than 50 hectares of farmlands in Barangay Bambang in Candaba and is expected to particularly benefit the members of the Bambang Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BMC).
It can be noted that access to irrigation water is the key for small scale farmers in order to sustain their livelihoods and contribute to the government’s objective of attaining food security in the country, RUFMSC said.
In most agricultural areas in the Philippines, however, the availability of irrigation water depends on monsoon rains or available power needed to operate water pumps and with lack of electricity, diesel-operated water pumps are commonly used to pump water for irrigation purposes.
Thus, solar-powered irrigation system is a “very promising solution” to help attain sustainable agriculture in the country, which enables farmers to shift from expensive and pollution-causing diesel-powered pumps towards having sustainable and efficient water sources, RUFMSC further said.
The DA is currently pursuing a development framework under its “New Thinking for Agriculture” agenda, which is built around eight paradigms designed to increase productivity and profitability of farmers and fishers through sustainable, globally-competitive and climate-resilient technologies and practices.
“We will institute policy reforms, continue to innovate, and build needed infrastructure and processing facilities to modernize the country’s agri-fishery sector, making it more productive, resilient and globally-competitive,” Dar earlier said.