THE Provincial Board of Negros Occidental has told the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) to expand the coverage of the province’s crop insurance program to help farmers cope with the adverse effects of calamities like production losses brought by dry spell.
Vice Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who attended Wednesday’s committee of the whole meeting that discussed the current effects of El Niño phenomenon in the province as well as the necessary measures, said he told OPA to improve the communication from the provincial government to the farmer level.
“They should try their best to reach more farmers to provide them access to the province’s crop insurance program,” Lacson said as he questioned “what were the measures taken by OPA with the extent of agricultural damage and losses brought by the dry spell now?”
Latest Capitol reports showed that agro-fishery losses already hit more than P321 million, mainly in sugarcane and rice crops.
OPA, during the hearing, presented a total project cost of P363.92 million for El Niño mitigation.
Fourth District Board Member Victor Javellana, chairman of the SP committee on agriculture, however, pointed out that only less than 50 percent of the project components are timely and need to be implemented by now.
These mainly include procurement and distribution of pumps and engine set, and construction and drilling of shallow tube wells, he said.
“We have to identify and prioritize what particular areas need immediate measures and responses,” Javellana said, stressing that after El Niño, the province should also brace for La Niña which needs different measures also with corresponding funds.
On the proposed cloud seeding operation, he said “it is still being considered,” but noted that “most probably after the Sugar Regulatory Administration and the Department of Agriculture have conducted their own to avoid over-use of resources.”
OPA had earlier told Sun.Star Bacolod that it has made a request for the procurement of equipment worth P4.5 million including pipes and hoses two years ago, but until now nothing has been delivered.