STUDENTS of the University of the Philippines Visayas presented their paper on solar power in the recently concluded third Asia Conference on Business and Economics Studies.

The paper, “Will Solar Power Irrigation generate Net Benefits?: A Case in Agusan del Sur, Southern Philippines,” was prepared by BS in Economics students Lans Gabriel L. Galinea, Millinia Ciela R. Vicente, and Nessa Louise S. Nuega with the help of their adviser Rodelio Subade.

Galinea said that in their study, they applied financial benefit-cost analysis to evaluate the solar-powered irrigation system project of the Department of Agriculture in Brgy. Sinobong, Veruela, Agusan del Sur.

“This was done to produce information that could help the stakeholders of the project, particularly the DA, in determining whether or not to continue the operation of the project from the perspective of its farmer-beneficiaries,” Galinea explained.

The project aims to increase rice yield by improving the water supply needed for rice production.

The Journal of Asian Business and Economic Studies collaborated with Lincoln University in New Zealand to host this year’s ACBES.

The event was co-sponsored by the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City and Taylor’s University in Malaysia, the Emerging Markets Society in the United States, and the Centre for Industrial Revolution and Innovation in the United States.