TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) – – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, highlighted the completion of the Cabaruan Solar Powered Irrigation Project (SPIP) in Quirino, Isabela.
It can be recalled that the president inaugurated the SPIP on June 20 this year, one of the country’s first and biggest solar-powered pump irrigation projects to address the rising challenges of energy costs in diverting water supply to farmlands.
“Ang ilan sa mga ginagawa nating irigasyon ngayon ay solar. Ibig sabihin pinapatakbo ang mga ito ng haring araw, hindi nauubos at hindi nangangailangan ng paggamit ng krudo. Isang halimbawa ay ang kabubukas lamang na Cabaruan Solar Powered Pump Irrigation Project sa Quirino, Isabela,” he said during the SONA.
(Some of the irrigation projects we have now are solar-powered, which means they are run by solar energy produced by the sun. An example is the recently opened Cabaruan Solar Powered Pump Irrigation Project in Quirino, Isabela.)
The completion of the SPIP, according to the president, is one way for his administration to help the farmers in the country.
“Kaya patuloy nating sinusuportahan nag sektor ng agrikultura upang mapabilis, mapadali at mapalakas ang produksyon mula sa pagpunla, pag-ani at hanggang sa pag-byahe at pagbenta upang maiwasan din ang pagkasira ng mga produkto,” he said during the SONA.
(We continue to support the agricultural sector to speed up, facilitate, and boost production from planting and harvesting until the traveling and selling of agricultural products to also prevent product damage.)
The Cabaruan SPIP is a project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) under the Mangat River Integrated Irrigation System (MARIIS). It was constructed from July 6, 2023, to February 20, 2024, with a total project cost of PHP 65.77 million.
It is the first SPIP in the country to be constructed over an irrigation canal, which relieved farmers from donating a portion of their property. It is also the biggest SPIP nationwide in terms of the number of solar panels, at 1,056.
The system can produce 739,200 watts of power for its two submersible pumps, with each pump capable of discharging 12,800 gallons per minute.
The Cabaruan SPIP, which is the biggest solar-powered pump irrigation project in the Philippines, is expected to irrigate 350 hectares of rice fields, benefiting almost 237 paddy farmers.
“Patuloy tayong nagbubukas at nagkukumpuni ng mga irigasyon sa Pilipinas,” he added.
(We continue to open and repair irrigation systems in the Philippines.) (OTB/MDCT/With reports from PCO/PIA Cagayan)
