THE Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 has come up with mitigating measures to ensure that farmers will continue to plant and harvest their crops without problems despite threats of extreme weather like El Niño and typhoons.
Roy Abaya, acting chief of DA 7’s Special Projects Coordination Management Assistance, said they’ve come up with an estimated forecast when it comes to harvest losses due to different calamities.
Under threat
Abaya said that based on the agency’s estimates, the country is expected to experience a production loss of 618,763 metric tons of rice once the heat wave and drought that are associated with El Niño take effect later this year.
Aside from corn and rice yields, the heat wave will also threaten the production of other agricultural products like coconut, livestock, poultry and inland fish.
Speaking before the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.’s Understanding Choices Forum last week, Abaya said they’re focusing on Bohol, which produces about 70 percent of the total rice yields in the region.
One of the measures they are currently implementing is the improvement of water resources by conducting cloud seeding to restore water reserves, providing irrigation pumps and repairing dams and canals for irrigation purposes.
To boost production, the DA 7 is also conducting buffer stocking of seeds and promoting crop-shifting among farmers in vulnerable areas.
Also, the DA also urged farmers to plant drought-resistant crops and to alter their crop calendars to anticipate sudden weather changes.
In the case of the inland fish industry, the DA is supporting local fish raisers by conducting water sampling in brackish and fresh water fish ponds and cages, among others.
Stable yields
He said the weather phenomenon will also affect 257, 576 hectares of corn fields.
Based on a weather summary provided by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, there is a 65 percent chance that El Niño will either develop this month or next month.
Andaya said that aside from El Niño, the country is expected to face 12 to 17 typhoons until the end of this year.
But while some areas are expected to suffer from the unusual weather patterns, Central Visayas will experience a slight loss in terms of rice and corn yields.
Based on the DA’s statistics, about 2,548 metric tons of rice and about 3,158 hectares of corn in the region will be affected by El Niño.
Joel Elumba, DA 7 technical director, said that for now, rice yields in Bohol and corn yields in Cebu are stable.