Philipines: Solar-powered Irrigation System soon in Mindanao

Philipines: Solar-powered Irrigation System soon in Mindanao

THE solar-powered irrigation system and circular fish and vegetable tanks
are set to be operational by December in Barangay New Janiuay, M'lang, North
Cotabato.

This was disclosed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol in an interview
with Davao reporters early this month at the sidelines of the Southern
Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Laboratory in Tugbok District, Davao City.

Piñol said the innovative system designed by a group of Filipino and
American engineers will mark the start of a revolutionary method of
providing water to rice fields, raising tilapia and growing vegetables using
solar power.

Piñol explained the Solar-Powered Irrigation System will source its power
from the sun to run a Grundfos water pump costing only P5 million with
virtually no maintenance cost for the next five to 10 years.

In his Facebook post last November 17, Piñol further explained that the
system "could pump out 300 gallons of water every minute to irrigate 100
hectares of rice fields in about 15 days using PVC pipes in the water
distribution rather than open canals."

The agriculture chief said that with sufficient irrigation water, the
average rice production could increase from only four metric tons to eight
metric tons if the farmer uses hybrid rice seeds and sufficient fertilizer.

Piñol added that beside the solar panels are two circular tanks dubbed as
"Circles of Life" measuring 30 feet in diameter.

Each is needed to be filled with water of about three-feet deep. For the
first tank, will serve for growing water cress or kangkong and other
vegetables planted in pails hanging by the side of the tank half submerged
in water using a modified Aquaponics system of planting vegetables.

The second tank will contain about 3,000 Tilapia fingerlings. He said these
"tilapias" could be grown for about four months, just in time when the
farmer harvests his rice after planting.

"The two tanks will be linked by small plastic pipes which, powered by a
small electric motor, will pump water from the fish tank containing Tilapia
wastes to the vegetable tank where it will be filtered by the Kangkong and
pumped back as fresh water into the fish tank," Piñol said.

He also said the movement of the water from one tank to another will create
an aeration system "which would allow intensive growing of Tilapia to be fed
by pelletised ground Kangkong leaves added with rice bran, powdered oyster
shell and a little oil as binder."

After four months, one farmer could harvest about one ton of medium-sized
tilapia which when sold at P100 per kilo could earn the farmer an additional
P100,000.

The system, Piñol said, was already operational in Coachella Valley in
Southern California designed and built by Tilapia farmer Rocky French, a
Filipino-American, co-owner of the Aquafarm Tech which operates a fishpond
in the middle of the Southern California Desert.

Piñol admitted that he personally approached and asked French to design the
system.

At present, a team of engineers led by American Moses Khuu and assisted by
former journalist-turned-farmer Winchell Campos is working double time to
realize the project long-dreamed by the farmers.

Piñol said that he will be inviting President Rodrigo Duterte "to witness
the actual demonstration of this project believed to be not only to
contribute to greater food production but also address poverty and
malnutrition in the countryside."

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/business/2016/11/20/solar-powered-irrigation
-system-soon-mindanao-510610

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com