Negros Occidental may lose P2.4B in crops
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
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NEGROS Occidental is projected to lose P2.397 billion in sugar and other crops due to El Niño Phenomenon if not mitigated, said agriculture officials Tuesday.
The damage in the sugar industry was predicted to be at P1.68 billion covering 28,000 hectares out of the province’s sugarcane plantation ranging from 50,000 to 200,000 hectares this year.
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“We’ll just pray that the El Niño would not be prolonged,” said Provincial Agriculturist Igmedio Tabianan.
The regional Field Unit of the Department of Agriculture (DA), meantime, projected a P351,120 million damage to 7,260 hectares planted with rice and P366,012,000 damage to 30,501 hectares planted with corn.
The actual damage of the dry spell at this time, according to Tabianan, is P3,631,460 in rice and corn.
The areas affected now are Murcia, with 36 hectares of rice amounting to P1,296,000 and 10 hectares of corn amounting to P182,000; Himamaylan, 12 hectares of rice amounting to P87,360; Cauayan, one hectare of rice amounting to P36,400 and 88 hectares of corn costing P800,120; La Castellana, four hectares of corn at P144,000; Ilog, seven hectares of corn amounting to P10,080; Hinobaan, 101.5 hectares of corn amounting to P913,500; and Kabankalan City, with eight hectares of corn pegged at P162,000.
To date, some parts of the province, especially the northern part, are still experiencing rains. The southern and central parts of the province, however, have been partially hit by the dry spell.
To combat the drought’s effect, Tabianan said cloud seeding has already been started, adding that the Provincial Government has allocated P2.2 million for the cloud seeding operation.
Tabianan said the Provincial Government “really needs the help” from the DA.
The El Niño weather phenomenon is the opposite of the La Nina. It is characterized by longer dry season and lesser typhoons coming in the country.
The country’s weather bureau forecasted that the rainy season may start in June this year. It said the country is now experiencing a mild El Niño Phenomenon. (Teresa Ellera-Dulla)
