SOLAR-POWERED IRRIGATION.DAR Secretary Bernie Cruz visits Nagpatayan village in Banna, Ilocos Norte to lead the formal turnover of a solar-powered irrigation system to the Nagpatayan Agrarian Cooperative on Wednesday (March 9, 2022). With a total cost of PHP856,204, the project can irrigate five hectares of farmlands during the dry season.(Photo courtesy of Jorge Richard P. Guerrero) LAOAG CITY-With the rising cost of fuel, the government is harnessing solar power to help farmers irrigate their farmlands. In a remote village of Nagpatayan in Banna, Ilocos Norte, some 26 agrarian reform beneficiaries are assured of a good harvest with a stable source of water without worry of expensive diesel pumps. Florentino Pitpit, the chairperson of the Nagpatayan Agrarian Cooperative, said Wednesday they are "thankful and blessed" for the timely intervention of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) when it funded the installation of a solar-powered submersible pump to sustain their crop