The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday it proposed to borrow €350 million for the development of Philippine Solar Irrigation Projects (PSIP).
DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that Agriculture Secretary Franciso Tiu Larel Jr. wanted next year's budget to have a P5 million investment in developing PSIPs, further disclosing that the agency currently has a proposal with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of the said amount for the project.
According to De Mesa, local farmers will benefit from these projects as it is a very inexpensive way of irrigating.
“The good thing about small-scale irrigation projects is that the farmers have the means to develop their farms. It is more manageable for them to develop and to go into diversification. Not unlike the big irrigation systems, which are very dependent on the release of water coming from these huge dams,” he explained during a forum in Makati City.
"If the farmer has freedom and flexibility to manage irrigation water, then, aside from rice and corn, they can diversify into vegetables, high-value commercial crops, and livestock. Again, water is basic for agriculture,” he added, further saying that solar irrigation systems are reliable as they will aid farmers with alternative wetting and drying technologies that are currently being adapted.
Besides PSIP being an affordable and clean technology option that allows the use of solar energy for water pumping, the DA official said it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve product quality, and provide access to renewable energy.
Likewise, De Mesa stated that the DA requested from the Department of Budget and Management an additional P22 billion to be used for solar-powered cold storage.
“About P11 billion of that, hopefully, will be included in the [solar-powered] cold storage,” he said, adding that these facilities will be distributed to production areas of fruits, vegetables, fisheries, and livestock.
The DA’s budget for this year is P197.84 billion, with P118.66 billion earmarked for rice-related initiatives.
In April, DA revealed that it was polishing a proposal seeking the multiplication of its budget for 2025 from the current P208.58 billion to P513.81 billion. The increment in the budget will be used for the construction of additional farm infrastructure, including irrigation and postharvest facilities.