THE Department of Agriculture (DA) prepared as early as last year for an expected El Niño that may affect the country this 2019.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanual Piñol said that DA Task Force on El Niño was organized as early as last year when the first reports of a probable drought were released by the Philippine Weather Bureau and interventions were already programmed
“Among the interventions being readied are water pumps during the period of the drought and seeds for immediately delivery after the El Nino so farmers could recover immediately,” the secretary said.
The DA has also prepositioned emergency rice supply for those that will be adversely affected by the drought.
Piñol also bared that availability of the Survival and Recovery (SURE) loans which will be granted to those affected by the drought involving P25,000 with no-collateral and no-interest loan payable in three years.
He added that there will be continuous social media advisory based on the data collated by the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service of the DA which operates 24/7.