Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Thursday, February 8, that farmers who will be affected by the dry spell will receive P2,500 each from the provincial government.
"I don't think that's enough, but I hope it could mitigate the effect of the dry spell or drought," Lacson said.
He also reminded the public, especially the farmers to maximize water, as he ordered the clearing of canals from the garbage of the communities of the local government units.
Lacson said it is unfortunate that Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, according to Pagasa may experience drought starting at the end of February up to May.
Lacson also said that the province is also considering conducting cloud seeding operations during drought. However, its accuracy is not 100 percent because it's also dependent on clouds and the wind direction to hit the target areas.
Lacson said he has called for a meeting with Provincial Agriculturist Dr. Dina Genzola for the list of farmers affected by the dry spell for financial assistance.
Most of the affected areas are only dependent on rain and Lacson is hoping that the irrigated areas could still produce.
"Most of the farmers are not insured because they were already informed of the dry spell brought by El Niño," Lacson added.
The Provincial Agriculture Office has been surveying to determine the affected areas of dry spell.
So far, Lacson said seven localities have been affected. These are Himamaylan City, Hinoba-an, Sipalay City, Isabela, Moises Padilla, Cauayan, and Binalbagan.
Lacson said the province has 60,000 hectares of irrigated rice fields.*