Arroyo’s visit stalls cloud seeding

CLOUD seeding operations over northern Luzon were temporarily stalled because of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s recent visit.

Department of Agriculture (DA) finance officer Jenny Daoayan said the scheduled El Niño mitigating measure was temporarily stopped to dedicate air space for the President.

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The department has embarked on a P2.5 million cloud seeding project to give much needed rains to water-deprived areas in Luzon.

Cloud seeding has begun in February to give water sources added leverage basing the operations on wind direction, cloud formation as well as availability of aeronautical needs.

DA Regional Director Cesar Rodriguez said another P6.2 million initially intended for rice projects will be realigned to the mitigating measures for the dry spell.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) is asking people to brace themselves against a drought this month.

There has been zero rainfall since November 2009, making the situation critical.

Cloud seeding operations in the past weeks have not helped the situation much due to immediate dispersal of clouds. The cloud patterns ideal for seeding have to be towering cumulus clouds.

The assessments of cloud seeding are usually made with the aid of radar and rain gauge observations called a Doppler Radar, which Pagasa does not have.

Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, and Mt. Province are among the areas ordered by Agriculture Acting Secretary Bernie Fondevilla to work with local government units (LGUs) on the speedy distribution of an assistance package of palay and corn.

Fondevilla, who chairs the task force on mitigation measures against El Niño, said regional field units (RFU) of the DA started carrying out intervention measures in January, including cloud seeding operations with the help of Aboitiz Corp. covering the Magat Dam.

Another measure implemented was the distribution of an initial 115 units of Open Source Pumps (CPS) through RFU in Cagayan Valley and the National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System (NIA-Mariis).

In December, the RFU in the Cordillera already purchased rodenticides and insecticides and has, since then, treated 10,000 hectares as a preemptive measure against possible outbreaks of rodents and other pests and diseases that could be triggered by the dry spell.

Twenty-five thousand packets of assorted vegetable seeds are planned for distribution to affected farmers.

Another P10 million worth of assorted vegetable seeds to be given away to farmers with destroyed crops was recently bid out.