Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday, January 8, that the provincial government is bracing for the threat of El Niño.
The governor said they have already identified impounding areas where they could store water, and additional water pumps may be needed.
Lacson pointed out that 60 percent of the farms in the province are irrigated, and he saw a need to maximize water availability.
He also urges farmers to save water, and farmers in the province, he said, are now realizing how important it is not to waste their water supplies.
Lacson further pointed out that 60 percent of the irrigated farmlands are also the same farms that supply a large majority of the province's rice supply.
Negros Occidental is currently 84 percent rice sufficient, Lacson said, “From the average four tons per hectare production, rice producers in the province are now producing five tons per hectare,” he added.
Despite the looming threat of El Niño, Lacson is still encouraging rice farmers to push for six tons per hectare production to increase the province's rice supply.*