FORMER senator and 2025 senatorial candidate Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson is prepared to help bring solar-powered irrigation to more farmers in more areas in the country, to bring down agriculture production costs.

Lacson said that should he earn a seat in the Senate, he is ready to find sources of funds for such programs by scrutinizing the national budget bill for questionable appropriations.

He said he will similarly scrutinize the budget to fund related programs, such as catch basins that impound water during rainy days and release the water if needed during the dry season.

“The budget is the solution to this. And being the budget watchdog, once I see questionable appropriations during the budget deliberations, I will have them realigned for the appropriate programs, activities and projects,” he said.

During a Konsultahang Bayan on agriculture in Pangasinan last April 9, Samahan ng Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) president Rosendo So had noted that one concern of farmers is the high cost of electricity, compared to our neighbors in Asia.

So said there is a need to bring down electricity and other production costs for our farmers to be competitive.

For now, Lacson said agricultural barangays, even small ones, can coordinate with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to set up irrigation facilities there.

“You can coordinate with the local NIA office, to bring down the cost of electricity,” Lacson noted.

Former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor, who was also in the forum, said there are other uses for solar technology, including setting up solar-powered sensors in the soil to trigger the flow of water or liquid fertilizer to areas that need irrigation.

“It is very critical that when we formulate policies, we consider the welfare of our farmers,” he said.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco