Agriculture.ph Blog

The Pangasinan State University in Asingan town, recipient of the first ever solar-powered pump in the country reported an increase in palay harvest.

Dean Artemio A. Diego disclosed that harvest in May yielded 110 cavans of palay and sold at about P50,000.  In 2002, only 52 of 92 cavans of palay were sold.  The amount will be used for other income generating projects.

“We are thankful that the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology, and Water World, Inc. have introduced to us the use of a water pump using solar energy technology,” Dr. Diego said.  The water pump augments the supply of irrigation water to 1 ½ hectares of PSU land planted to palay.

PSU hopes to encourage other farmers in Asingan to adopt the technology.  The solar-powered water pump converts solar intensity into electricity.  The electrical output can be connected to a pumping system such as centrifugal or submersible pump to draw underground water.

The pumping system is cost competitive for remote areas without electricity in drawing potable water.

Dr. Diego recommends use of bigger solar panels and a storage battery for maximum application of the water pump.  PSU plans to avail of soft loan from DOST to expand the utilization of the solar-powered water pump for the benefit of local farmers.

The pumping system was inaugurated last March.  PCIERD provided P310,000 grant-in-aid to the project.  Initially, the project was implemented through a one unit solar-powered pump donation by the Water World Inc. to the Philippine government, which assigned the project to PSU Asingan campus.

After the demonstration and inaugural switch on by Pres. Fidel Ramos, the water pump was installed at the identified cooperator farm across PSU Asingan campus for testing.

World Water Inc Philippines president John Herrman said that solar energy is abundant, readily available, inexhaustible and environment-friendly.

PCIERD Executive Director Graciano P. Yumul, Jr., said that there is a need to tap solar energy resource of Asingan because it has type A climate condition where solar intensity is highest during the dry season and rainfall is also at its lowest