DA Forms El Niño Task Group

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has created a group task to firm up strategies meant to cushion the impact of the impending dry spell on farming and fisheries sectors.

DA Undersecretary for Field Operations Service (FOS) Emerson Palad, who heads the newly formed task group on El Niño, said they will meet on Wednesday to discuss measures to protect crops and other agricultural products from damage due to the impending onset of El Niño in June.

The task force is expected to come up with an action plan for rice, corn, livestock, fisheries, and high value crops.

They are also expected to come up with an action and its corresponding budgetary requirements. For purposes of monitoring and crafting of possible interventions, DA-Field Operations Service (FOS) has identified 44 provinces and two cities as highly vulnerable and moderately vulnerable local government units to the impacts of a prolonged dry spell.

Highly vulnerable local government units (LGUs) include: Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union and Pangasinan in Ilocos Region; Cagayan in Cagayan Valley; Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales in Central Luzon; Cavite and Rizal in CALABARZON; Occidental Mindoro and Palawan in MIMAROPA; Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas; Zamboanga City in Zamboanga Peninsula; Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao; and Sarangani and South Cotabato in SOCCSKSARGEN.

Moderately vulnerable LGUs include: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province in the Cordilleras; Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in Cagayan Valley; Batangas, Laguna and Quezon in CALABARZON; Romblon in MIMAROPA; Sorsogon in Bicol Region; Aklan and Antique in Western Visayas; Bohol in Central Visayas; Samar in Eastern Visayas; Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay in Zamboanga Peninsula; Bukidnon in Northern Mindanao; and Davao Oriental and Davao City in Davao Region.

Authorities are also continuously monitoring the Angat Dam, which is a major source of domestic water supply in Metro Manila, due to its receding level.

Last week, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) recorded the level of Angat Dam at 181.31 meters or 34 centimeters lower than the 181.65-meter level earlier.

On Saturday, the dam’s critical level is placed at 180 meters which could mean that its function of irrigating thousands of acres of farmland in the nearby provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga could be affected.