DA Warns Farmers Against El Niño

The regional office of the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA)7 has embarked mitigation programs against climate change and warn farmers against El Niño. DA 7 said the warning allows farmers to continue availing bountiful harvests despite the coming long drought.

DA7 Agricultural Engr. Marcial Agad, during the Kapihan sa PIA on Wednesday said the adoption of drought tolerant varieties of both rice and corn seeds, improvement of the irrigation system and farm to market roads, and the establishment of early warning devices, are some of the measures on hand now, to protect farmers from losing farm income because of the El Niño Phenomenon.

Aside from these, the DA 7 is also providing some farm equipment to hasten the farm cleaning process while the hot season is existing, Agad said.

Agad cited this concept in relation to the present experience of the farmers of the hot climate brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

This climatic change was earlier forecast by the government’s weather bureau, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

According to Agad, the Central Visayas is one of the areas in the whole country with lesser rice and corn productions per hectare harvests.

He said region 7 has a total rice production of only 3.2 tons per hectare, while its corn production is only .9 tons per hectare.

Agad said Bohol can be considered as the rice capital in Central Visayas, while Cebu is also the capital of corn productions, while Negros Oriental is popular on sugar cane productions and Siquijor is noted for different kinds of crops.

As of this time, scarcity of rice and corn productions cannot be felt yet because the harvest season has been finished last month, while the country was experiencing good weather conditions, Agad said.

“But with this planting season, and with this prevailing hot weather condition, this will apparently affect corn farmers, Agad said.

Agad, however, added that it could not affect rice farmers whose farms are watered by the irrigated system.

“Rain feed farms for corn and rice are mostly the ones which suffered most during the prevailing of El Niño phenomenon”, Agad said.

“So if the PAGASA forecast for the El Niño to continue up to April next year, we can say that corn productions will surely be affected”, Agad pointed out.

All farmers have to do during the prevailing hot season is to prepare their farms by cleaning it in preparations for the next planting season when rains come, Agad said.