BY: RIZALIE A. CALIBO
LARENA, Siquijor, May 27 (PIA) --- Although the state-run weather agency PAGASA has not yet released an official announcement on the onset of El Nino in the country, preparations are already undertaken in the farming sector to brace the farmers from the possible effects of the current heat wave.
Department of Agriculture (DA-7) Regional Technical Director for research and regulatory Joel Elumba in a Kapihan sa PIA held Monday said the El Niño occurrence is still not clear for now, whether it is slow, mild, or severe or when and for how long it will occur.
Elumba said DA has already implemented the necessary preparations since since the last quarter of last year with a series of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns region wide, buffer stocking, monitoring and validation of agricultural facilities and even allocation of standby funds for cloud seeding.
He said the agriculture sector is the most affected by El Niño and the climate change so that so the government and the public should come up with some adaptation measures to counter their effects.
These would include the use of adaptive crops and cropping system, indigenous forage, and good animal husbandry practices, among others.
Elumba also strongly campaigned for the conservation of water and called for the strong support to the government’s Natioal Greening Program (NGP).
Farmers should already start preparing with or without El Niño, he said, as he urged them to plant crops suitable to their lands and make sure that they are taking good care of their livestock.
He said that if climate change becomes severe, production volume and quality are greatly affected.
Surface water dries up, significantly affecting production volume and quality that consequently reduces farmers’ income, he said.
Elumba however said he is confident that Siquijor farmers are intelligent and resilient as seen by how they produce good crops, raise and export good amount of quality livestock given the size of the island and the limited resources. (rmn/rac/PIA7-Siquijor)