Low-lying farms in DavOr will get water from P23-M irrigation
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SOLAR-POWERED IRRIGATION. The installed solar panels in Barangay Maputi in San Isidro, Davao Oriental will provide power to the irrigation system for the water to flow in the 60-hectare cultivated land, benefiting 33 farmer-beneficiaries. Turned over to the beneficiaries on Tuesday (Aug. 23, 2023), the irrigation system works by diverting water from the Bitaogan River with its two pump sites in Barangays Maputi and Bitaogan. (Photo courtesy of NIA)
MindanaoHerald | Low-lying farms in DavOr will get water from P23-M irrigation | DAVAO CITY – The Bitaogan River–Maputi Small Irrigation Project (SIP), which costs PHP23 million, will use solar power to water low-lying farmer lands in Davao Oriental.
In an interview on Wednesday, Engr. Elmer Joseph Coronel, head of the Engineering and Operation Section of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA)-Davao Oriental Irrigation Management Office, said that the Bitaogan River–Maputi SIP aims to bring water to 60 hectares of farmland, which will help 33 farmer-beneficiaries.
Coronel said that the project was given to the Maputi Bitaogan Farmer Irrigators Association (MBFIA) on Tuesday. He said that the solar-powered pumps made it possible to bring irrigation service to faraway places from a low-lying water source.
With its two pump sites, one in Barangay Maputi and the other in Barangay Bitaogan, the SIP moves water from the Bitaogan River.
“We told the people who got the buildings to take care of them, especially the solar panels. Coronel said, “They should follow the rules of the group about what their duties and responsibilities are.”
Coronel said that NIA will help them keep the project going by giving them the training, potential buildings, and other help they need.
“With President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s focus on convergence, we have different programmes that can help the irrigators association make more money,” he said.(via PNA)
