Isabela declares state of calamity

DUE to the worsening effects of the prevailing El Niño phenomenon especially to its agriculture sector, the Municipal Government of Isabela has declared a state of calamity in the locality.

Municipal Agriculturist Ernesto Moleta confirmed to SunStar Bacolod Thursday, April 11, that the southern Negros Occidental town has been placed under state of calamity since April 2.

Moleta said the amount of damage and production losses brought by the extreme heat to the crop sector already surged to about P10 million.

"The amount only accounts for 12 barangays. We have yet to assess the damage in 18 other barangays," he said, adding that based on the guidelines, a state of calamity can already be declared if there are two or more affected barangays.

Based on the monitoring of the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) of Isabela, the town's rice sector incurred the biggest amount of losses worth almost P7 million.

The remaining damage worth about P3 million is the combined losses among other crops like banana and vegetables.

Moleta said most of the affected rice farms were still on vegetative stage when water sources started to deplete.

Affected rice farmers have no production output for this cropping season, Moleta said.

"Though rains were felt this week, only the affected sugarcane, banana and vegetable crops can recover. For rice, it's hundred percent damaged already," he said, adding they have yet to determine the losses in sugarcane.

The declaration of the state of calamity enabled the Municipal Government to utilize five percent of its disaster fund.

Moleta said they allocated P600,000 for the purchase of water pumps, gasoline, hose and seeds, among other support services.

There is really a need to declare a state of calamity to help farmers allay the adverse effects of El Niño, he stressed.

The MAO already advised rice farmers to observe proper timing. Meaning, they should refrain from planting if there is no stable supply of water.

Through a resolution passed by the Municipal Council, it also wrote a letter to the provincial and national government asking for more assistance.

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) earlier said the Municipal Government of Murcia also declared a state of calamity due to increasing damage to crops brought by the dry spell.

OPA initially reported P76.6 million worth of production losses in the province's rice, corn, high value commercial crops and fishery sectors.

This is on top of the P366 million in production losses on sugarcane earlier reported by the Sugar Regulatory Administration.

The Provincial Veterinary Office also reported P3 million worth of damage to the local livestock and poultry industry.

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