Hydropower integration eyed for farms

The Department of Agriculture is looking to integrate hydropower into the country’s farm systems as it lays out measures to connect water infrastructure with rural electrification and food production.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Thursday that the agency will begin planning irrigation networks and other water assets that can host hydropower projects, including run-of-river, micro-hydro, and pumped-storage systems.

“Energy and agriculture are deeply interconnected,” he said, noting that irrigation systems, cold storage, fish landing sites, and food-processing facilities require reliable and affordable electricity.

Hydropower, he added, can drive a “clean-energy countryside” where electrification and farm productivity advance together.

Tiu Laurel noted that hydropower creates multiple opportunities for the farm sector, from co-locating power facilities with irrigation systems and energizing rural microgrids to strengthening agri-value chains by ensuring reliable electricity for storage and processing.

He added that better watershed management can boost both agricultural yields and hydropower output, turning rivers and reservoirs into “sources of both power and prosperity” that can reduce postharvest losses and raise rural incomes.

He also acknowledged the hurdles facing developers, citing lengthy permitting, financing constraints, environmental safeguards, and overlapping mandates among water, land, and energy agencies.

Sustainable hydropower, he said, must deliver benefits to farmers and host communities, “not just developers.”

According to the Agriculture chief, the Philippines cannot meet its renewable-energy targets—35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040—without expanding hydropower, from run-of-river systems to pumped-storage and micro-hydro facilities.