A provincial government-funded PHP7.9 million solar-powered irrigation system (SPIS) is providing an eco-friendly alternative for water management to a farmers’ cooperative in Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City in southern Negros Occidental.

The Tara Agrarian Reform Cooperative (TARC), which has more than a hundred members, will manage the project that can serve up to 24 hectares of agricultural area with a total power of 57 kilowatts.

“We express our gratitude to the farmers for their partnership in advancing the province’s food security and agricultural productivity agenda. I urge them to take diligent care of the project and manage it effectively to ensure its sustainability,” Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said in a statement on Thursday.

The project turnover was formalized with the signing of a memorandum of agreement between TARC chairman Alex Agenga and OIC-provincial agriculturist Dina Genzola during the ceremony held at the Negros First Integrated Agricultural Center nursery compound also in Barangay Carabalan on Tuesday.

According to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, the Tara SPIS will deliver efficient, reliable, and sustainable means of irrigation for the agricultural activities of TARC members.

“It will reduce dependency on grid electricity or fossil fuels, offering an eco-friendly alternative for water management in farming. It has lower operational maintenance cost since sunlight is free and also minimizes environmental footprint compared to the combustion engine,” it added. (PNA)