Friday, September 29, 2006 El Niño developing in Pacific; DA plans ‘ready’
ABNORMALLY warm weather is developing over the Pacific Ocean, signaling a phenomenon that can damage crops and trigger a decrease in potable water supply in some countries, including the Philippines.
For now, however, the El Niño phenomenon developing off the central and eastern Pacific appears weak. It was first spotted a week ago, said Sharon Arruejo, a weather specialist from the Pag-asa weather bureau in Manila.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) assured that its contingency plans are in place, in coordination with local government units (LGUs), to lessen El Niño’s effect on agriculture.
DA 7 Director Eduardo Lecciones said the areas in Central Visayas that are vulnerable to El Niño are the southern part of Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental and the entire Siquijor Province.
“We have counter-measures in case of El Niño. Among these is advising farmers to plant crops that consume less water,” he said, adding that information dissemination is one of the agency’s strategies.
El Niño is marked by the accumulation of heat from the interaction between the atmosphere and the sea’s surface. In the Philippines, Mindanao will be the first to feel its effects, the DA said.
“In general, the phenomenon is disastrous to agriculture, but it is beneficial to those with cornfields... this allows them to dry their corn thoroughly before having these milled,” he said.
There are also provinces where El Niño may be beneficial, like in the Caraga Region or in Leyte, where dry weather can correct the excessive moisture levels in their soil.
The DA national office has a standby fund in case cloud seeding is required. Lecciones said cloud seeding is a last recourse for a prolonged El Niño season, and because it is expensive, the regional office will need help from the Philippine Air Force and the DA head office. (AIV)
