ABOUT 16 hectares of rice fields in southern Negros Occidental have already been affected by the dry season, Dr. Edmundo Raul Causing, provincial agriculturist, said Tuesday, May 2.
As of May 2, the dry season has already damaged P500,000 worth of rice fields in the province, Causing said.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the provincial government is preparing something to help our farmers affected by the dry season.
"We just want to know from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in their proposal the target results. Not to come out with a very general program. We are results oriented. In preparing the budget, it should be explained that this is the end- result," Lacson pointed out.
On the incoming "tiempo muerto," Lacson said, "we always experience that. The earlier the sugar mills close, the earlier they open to prepare for the next milling season. If indeed we will have very dry months, milling may start even earlier because our canes will be drying up already. Although we've been experiencing rains, I hope Pagasa is wrong," Lacson pointed out.
Lacson also revealed that the provincial government has not allotted a budget yet for cloud seeding.*