BACOLODNON farmers need help amid the El Niño affecting Negros Occidental, which is expected to stretch until November.
Bacolod City Councilor Bartolome Orola urged the City Agriculture Office, the City Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office and the Public Employment Service Office to come up with an action plan to help the local farmers prepare and possibly mitigate the effects of the dry spell or El Niño.
Orola, chairperson of the City Council committee on markets, said that agriculture is one of the main sources of livelihood in the country and the local farmers play an important role in promoting food security and sufficiency of the city.
He said the Department of Agriculture earlier announced that Negros Occidental and other places could still experience dry conditions at least until November this year and that could greatly affect the planters or farmers who depend on farming for their source of income.
Orola noted that El Niño is a part of a routine climate pattern that occurs when sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean rise to above-normal levels for an extended period of time that can contribute to drought conditions in the affected area.
He said the alleviation of poverty of the marginalized sector is among the primary advocacy of the current administration, thus, it is imperative that the local government find ways of ameliorating the situations of the marginal sectors.
“Our local farmers mostly belong to the marginalized sector and would need the additional support in mitigating the effects of El Niño. So there is a need to come up with an action plan to help them in the coming months especially in terms of alternative source of income and livelihood training,” Orola added. (MAP)