₱3.9 Million Solar-Powered Irrigation Pump Boosts Farm Productivity In Pangasinan

A ₱3.985 million solar-powered irrigation pump (SPIP) in Barangay Calmay-Lebueg in Laoac, Pangasinan is expected to boost the farm productivity of farmers, particularly the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in this community after the facility passed the Department of Agrarian Reform’s (DAR) final inspection.

DAR Ilocos Regional Director and Concurrent Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Ma. Ana Francisco said the SPIP is scheduled for turnover to the Calmay-Lebueg Farmers Irrigators Association, Inc. this year.

“The facility can irrigate up to 15 hectares of farmland benefitting our ARBs, who are tilling the surrounding area. The irrigation could also greatly contribute to addressing food security in this province,” she said.

Franciso divulged that there are three more SPIP projects nearing completion in the province, which include Barangay Waig in Malasiqui, Barangay Gonzales in Umingan, and Barangay Malimpin in Dasol.

“The irrigation pump in Laoac is part of the irrigation component of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, implemented hand in hand by the DAR with the National Irrigation Authority (NIA). The DAR Provincial Office was accompanied by the Regional and Central offices of the NIA and the Provincial Agrarian Reform Coordinating Committee, in inspecting the SPIP along with the recipient-ARB organization,” Francisco said.

This undertaking is in line with the marching order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through the leadership of DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III, to uplift the economic lives of the farmers.