Dry spell in Davao del Norte

Dry spell in Davao del Norte

THE Department of Agriculture-Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DA-DRRM) said P78.3 million worth of crops and livestock were damaged in Davao del Norte due to the dry spell.

As of Tuesday, April 30, the agency reported that damage in rice reached P33.9 million, P12.7 million in corn, P18.8 million in high-value crops and P12.9 million in livestock. These numbers will be consolidated further by the agency.

“Ongoing po ang consolidation. May damage report na ang Davao del Norte but for validation pa po. Davao del Norte experienced dry condition and we are bracing for some more damage reports to come as this is a creeping phenomenon of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (Enso),” DA-DRRM focal person, Roy Jose Pascua, told SunStar Davao Tuesday, April 30.

“Last January, there was flooding in Davao del Norte that damaged a lot of crops, so they replanted in February kaya inabot ng dry condition ang mga farmers na nag-replant,” he added.

In Davao del Sur, the damage caused by dry spell as of April 15, since its occurrence in November 2018, reached P333.4 million, covering 9,061.47 hectares.

Rice damage report was pegged at P158.3 million, while 3,742 rice farmers in Bansalan, Hagonoy, Kiblawan, Magsaysay, Matanao and Padada have been affected.

The P12.9 million worth of damage in corn affected 663 farmers in Magsaysay, Matanao and Padada, while the P162.2 million worth of damage in other high-value crops affected 3,063 farmers in Kiblawan, Magsaysay, Matanao and Padada.

Pascua said they will immediately conduct cloud seeding operations in areas declared under a state of calamity due to the El Niño phenomenon as soon as the Philippine Air Force air asset comes back from Mactan Airbase after some minor setback.

Last April 9 to 11, the DA-DRRM said it conducted five sorties or rounds of cloud seeding in Davao del Sur and Soccsksargen, and some of these areas are reported to have experienced heavy rainfall after the operation.

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