PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated on June 10 the Cabaruan Solar-Powered Pump Irrigation Project in Quirino, Isabela, an initiative he tagged as a 'game changer' that could help address rising energy costs and provide more water supply to farmlands.The Cabaruan SPIP is the biggest solar-powered pump irrigation project in the Philippines and is expected to irrigate 350 hectares of rice fields, benefiting almost 237 farmers.
'We really should develop the agriculture sector, and we all know that the most important aspect is to increase the yield of our farmers and that will happen with efficient irrigation,' he said.The SPIP allows farmer-beneficiaries to decrease their electricity or fuel expenses by minimizing the use of electric or fuel-powered pumps and increase agricultural production with the ample supply of water coming from it.