Marcos pushes nationwide expansion of solar-powered irrigation

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is pushing for the nationwide expansion of solar-powered irrigation systems to cut farming costs, strengthen food security and make agriculture more resilient to drought and climate change.

Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto said the National Irrigation Administration’s Solar-Powered Pump Irrigation Program is targeting 10,000 sites nationwide by 2030.

NIA currently operates 4,036 solar-powered irrigation sites across 43 provinces in all 17 regions, including 2,147 in Luzon, 1,102 in the Visayas and 787 in Mindanao.

“The President’s mandate is to ensure that farmers have reliable irrigation without depleting their income on irrigation costs,” Recto said.

Under NIA’s Vision 2030 roadmap, the government aims to serve two million farmers, irrigate an additional 100,000 hectares of agricultural land and move toward net-zero energy use in irrigation.

The systems use solar energy to power water pumps, reducing dependence on diesel and exposure to fuel price swings.

“This is a long-term investment in food security. Every peso farmers save on diesel can instead be used for seeds, fertilizer, equipment and other needs that directly improve their productivity and income,” Recto said.

NIA is also developing an artificial intelligence-based monitoring system that will use real-time data on water availability, soil conditions and irrigation requirements.

The agency said existing solar-powered systems can provide six to eight hours of irrigation daily.

In Bacarra, Ilocos Norte, 12 solar-powered irrigation units serving 340 hectares helped lower irrigation expenses and support up to three cropping cycles a year.

In Bukidnon, AI-assisted irrigation scheduling has been tested using satellite data and soil-moisture monitoring, while solar-powered irrigation facilities in Pangasinan continued operating during the prolonged power outage caused by Typhoon Egay in 2023.

“We want to move from traditional irrigation to smart, digital and climate-resilient water management,” Recto said.