Philippines Banks on Renewable Energy for Continuous Food Production

To sustain food production under the Urban Agriculture Program of the government, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be optimizing the use of renewable energy to grow food using aquaponics and hydroponics technologies.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar received 19 units of 30-watt solar panels from Weather Philippines Foundation Inc. President Maribeth Marasigan that will be used to power water systems for vegetable production.

According to Secretary Dar, the panels will be set-up at the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry urban gardens in Malate, Manila to generate electricity to sustain both aquaponics and hydroponics set-up.

“We are promoting in a big way renewable energy in agriculture as this is the key to level up food production in the future,” Secretary Dar said.

The Secretary added that the initiative would surely intensify the government’s move towards sustainable, strong, and climate-resilient food production.

In his message, he encouraged other corporations to band with the Department through partnerships involving primary production, secondary and tertiary processing through their corporate social responsibility, and agribusiness efforts.

“This will not only address food security and create income opportunities for our local farmers and fishers in the rural areas, but it will also fast-track the agri-industrialization movement for the country,” he explained.

BPI Director George Culaste expressed his gratitude to Weather Philippines and Aboitiz Equity Ventures headed by Christopher Camba for collaborating in various innovation activities and providing support in value-adding and agribusiness.

“We look forward to creating more partnerships with your group so that we can show the nation that if we work together, we can heal as one,” Dir. Culaste said.

The DA has been mainstreaming initiatives for urban agriculture as part of its Plant, Plant, Plant Program to address the food need of residents living in the metropolis and augment available food supply.

Recently, The Philippines Department of Energy announced the dream project roster for renewable energy specialists.Successful candidates will be under the roster for a minimum of one year, maximum of two years depending on satisfactory performance and duration of the DREAM Project.

The Development for Renewable Energy Applications Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability (DREAMS) Project is a five-year project being implemented by the Department of Energy (DOE) through its Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).