THE government said it will increase the utilization of cost-efficient renewable energy (RE) systems and technologies in the country’s agriculture and fisheries sector.

This effort will be done by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Energy (DoE), which will work together for the implementation of the Renewable Energy Program for the Agri-Fishery Sector (REPAFS), an eight-year program that will be implemented from 2022 to 2030.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 mandates the DA to coordinate with DoE for the identification and installation of appropriate types of energy sources particularly in the use of nonconventional energy sources for the locality in order to enhance agriculture and fisheries development in the area.

“Along that line, DA and DoE entered into a Memorandum of Agreement and a Joint Memorandum Circular where a major item is for a renewable energy program to be formulated and implemented,” said Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (DABAFE) Dir. Ariodear Rico.

The total budgetary requirement for the REFAPS 20222030 is P7.97 billion.

“The goal of REPAFS is to promote the use of RE in the agriculture and fishery sector for enhanced productivity, sustainability, and environmental protection,” Rico said.

Chaired by DA-BAFE and cochaired by DoE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau, the Joint Technical Working Group is tasked to provide technical support in the formulation of the REPAFS.

The REPAFS six strategic directions are infrastructure and facilities support services, research and development, human resource development, standards development and enforcement, financing and credit support, and policy and incentives support.

The REPAFS short-term projects from 2022 to 2026 will include pilot demonstration sites; enhancement of existing technologies; introduction of technology business incubators to local manufacturers of

RE machinery and equipment; promotion of RE technologies for agri-fisheries production and postharvest operations; and integration of design of different RE systems as additional or alternative power source of agricultural and fisheries facilities.

For the medium-term, to government will push for the provision of agricultural and fishery machinery and facilities driven by RE technologies; conversion of existing and installed projects of DA as energy/power source; support to local developers, manufacturers, end-users of RE technologies, and producers of RE feedstock; as well as local RE technology development.