GOVERNOR Alfredo Marañon said that the provincial government is now preparing for preemptive measures against weak El Niño phenomenon that may also affect the province this month.
Marañon said that Capitol has already allocated funds pegged at P40 million that would include the cloud seeding operation to induce rain.
Lawyer Japhet Masculino, provincial agriculturist, said that the fund is allocated for the disaster preparedness of the province.
The provincial government will also acquire water pumps and other irrigation-related projects.
Marañon added that this is the time that the farmers should realize how important the crop insurance coverage of their respective farms is.
“We have been encouraging our farmers to have their farms enrolled with the crop insurance so that in case their crops will be damaged by natural disasters such as drought and typhoons, they would have claims for their farms and use them for their next plantation and minimize the impact of the disaster,” Marañon said.
He lamented that some farmers are sometimes lazy to fill up the forms and submit it to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist for the insurance coverage.
Masculino also said that the weather bureau has reported that weak El Niño would mean below normal rainfall from March to April.
He said that the provincial government will also prepare rice and vegetable seeds for the livelihood of the farmers when the rainy season comes. (TDE)