Solar irrigation will make Abra top aggie producer: Pinol
>> Tuesday, June 11, 2019
LA PAZ, Abra --
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol ordered the regional office of the
Department of Agriculture (DA) to prioritize Abra in its list of beneficiaries
for its solar-powered irrigation system (SPIS) as part of DA’s vision to make
the province one of the country’s top agricultural producers.
“Napakaganda
ng lupa dito sa Abra, clay at malaki pa ang lupa na pwedeng
magamit. Marami pang mga agricultural potential kaya inutusan ko
ang DA regional office na i-prioritize ang Abra para
sa solar-powered irrigation (Abra has a lot of potential, it has good
quality soil, clay, and still has a vast land that can be utilized. It has a
big agricultural potential that is why I ordered the DA regional office to
prioritize Abra for the solar-powered irrigation),” Piñol said during the
turnover of four SPIS built in the towns of Tayum, Danglas, Bucay and La Paz.
After seeing
the terrain of Abra last week, Piñol said: “there is no other way to irrigate
these areas but through solar-powered irrigation system.”
Piñol said
Abra will become progressive due to its good soil aside from being famous for
its hardworking and industrious people.
“The solar
powered irrigation system can be installed in high elevation areas and with
high slopes. Unlike the traditional irrigation system which is for a three
degrees slope, the solar system can be installed in high slopes for high
elevation farms because they are piped, no need for an open canal where the
water can flow,” he explained.
“Nakita ko
yung sakahan nila, maski once a year lang
ang production nila, maganda ang pagkaka set up so that is the
direction right now (I saw their farms which while producing only once a year
were set up properly, so that is the direction now),” he added.
The top
DA official also met with local farmers, assuring them of President Rodrigo
Duterte’s vision to make the country food self-sustaining through long-term
programs and projects that would boost agricultural production.
Piñol said he
wants Abra to be the first to come up with a 10-year agricultural master plan
that would help in achieving the full potentials of the province.
He said he
finds Abra to emerge as top producer of rice and fruits, praising the
province’s sweet lanzones, rambutan and mango similar to sweet mango from
Zambales and Guimaras.
“Five to ten
years from now, it will be a progressive agricultural province. We just need to
improve the technology,” he said.
Piñol
suggested to Abra Gov. Jocelyn Bernos to convert their over-harvest mango into
processed products such as mango chips, mango puree and juice.
Bernos has
expressed willingness to do its share to attain vision of making Abra a top
producer of rice and fruits.
“If our good
Secretary is ready to help us, we are more ready. This kind of project is for
Abreño, so we are very willing to have a counterpart to whatever projects they
have for Abra,” Bernos said.
She informed
the Secretary that the provincial government has purchased truck-type water
drilling equipment for additional water sources using solar-power.
The governor
cited stressed the need to improve their rice production as well as their fruit
bearing plants aside from the bamboo, which is Abra’s one-town-one-product that
they want to improve and market.
The four SPIS
turned over by Piñol on Thursday were constructed with the capacity to irrigate
10 hectares and even up to 50 hectares of farmlands if additional pipes are to
be installed for irrigation.
Piñol also
raised the possibility of investing in batteries to be able to save the excess
power produced by the solar system and use them to light up the houses.
“I’ll teach
you how to properly utilize your drilling machine so that water can be sourced
in areas far from the rivers. The underground water can be obtained with the
use of the solar power, even if the area does not have an electricity,” he
said. (PNA)
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