SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – At least P187 million ($4 million) has been allocated for Western Visayas to mitigate the effects of El Niño, acting Western Visayas regional director Roy Abaya of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday, September 2.
He said the “El Niño mitigation fund” was sourced from the regional office. Of the amount, P94.5 million ($2.02 million) is already available while the remaining P92.5 million ($1.98 million) has yet to be requested from the Department of Budget and Management.
He said that Iloilo gets the chunk of the budget because it has the biggest agricultural area, followed by Negros Occidental, which was a part of Western Visayas before the creation of Negros Island Region.
He said that DA central office had directed the regional offices to prepare for the adverse effects of the El Niño, including drought.
Among the mitigation measures are cloud-seeding, seeds distribution, crop insurance, and other farming-support services, like the mechanization of water systems.
He said the regional office will hold a massive information drive among farmers on proper irrigation and use of water.
The country will experience the dry spell starting the last quarter of 2015 until the first quarter of 2016, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
At least 33 provinces, including Negros Occidental, will be affected by the phenomenon, the weather bureau said.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is gearing up for El Niño, but Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said that “the best preparation is prayers.”
He said that the provincial government has acquired a number of shallow well pumps but these are not enough. “But how can we used them if the rivers run out of water?”
He believed that cloud seeding can’t really mitigate the effects of El Niño. “Cloud seeding is not perfect. We will conduct cloud seeding in Valladolid or Bago but the rain could pour in Guimaras,” the governor said.
The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist has advised farmers here to start planting alternative crops, especially those without proper irrigation.
OPA said that 40% of the rice fields in Negros Occidental have no access to irrigation and are dependent on rain.
Meanwhile, the provincial board on Wednesday called Provincial Agriculturist Igmedio Tabianan, Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena and Provincial Engineer Ernie Mapa to a committee hearing on September 23.
The committee hearing was set to enlighten the provincial board on the mitigating measures the capitol will undertake to combat the possible effects of the long drought in the province, said Board Member Victor Javellana, chairman of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Agriculture. – Rappler.com
$1 = P46.77
Farmer planting in parched land image from Shutterstock
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.