QUEZON CITY -- The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in the province of Catanduanes recently turned over a solar-powered irrigation system to Ugnayang Lakas ng Dariao Agrarian Reform Cooperative (UNLADCO) to irrigate the 5,000 square meter farm of the cooperative, particularly during the dry season.
The first-of-its-kind facility installed in the province, located in Barangay Dariao, Caramoran, has a project cost of Php 861,488.50.
The irrigation system is composed of a 12-unit solar panel module with a 230-watts capacity to energize the 2.3 hp submersible pump aiding the deposit of water supply to two PE storage tanks, each with 2,000-liter capacity where PVC delivery pipes are connected to sufficiently irrigate the cooperative’s farm and also serves about 350 households in the area.
OIC-Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II Nerisa Aldea said the newly awarded-irrigation system, given its energy-efficient nature, is expected to reduce the production costs, and ensure a year-round increase in yield from root crops and vegetable production activities.
“Through UNLADCO’s steady showcase of promising development, the organization has since been a recipient of various DAR interventions and is now engaged in vegetable farming, egg layering production, commodity trading, cassava chip making, and lending. We are sure that this facility would help boost their farming activities,” Aldea said.
UNLADCO, initially organized on March 15, 2018, and registered at the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) on April 16, 2019, has now 352 active members, 201 of which are agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from nine (9) adjacent barangays of the municipality of Caramoran-Dariao, Baybay, Icanbato, Bothoan, Toytoy, Camburo, Tucao, Maysuram, and Buenavista.
