THE City Agriculturist Office (Cagro) encourages farmers in Davao City to collect rainwater for their plants in preparation for the El Niño phenomenon.
Engr. Anthony Roy Cariño, Cargo acting head of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Division, said in a radio interview on Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, that they already made 500 rainwater catchment areas in the city. This means that in these areas, farmers may use the rainwater to irrigate their plants when the El Niño phenomenon is at its peak.
“Ang size ani usually 10 meters by 15 meters ug kalawomon nga isa ug duha ka metro. Maka-store ni og tubig siguro naa sa 200 to 300 cubic meter nga tubig, busa kani makatabang na ni sa atoang mga mag-uuma sa panahon nga wa nay ulan (The size is usually 10 meters by 15 meters and it has a depth of one to two meters. It can store water up to 200 to 300 cubic meter hence, it could help our farmers during drought season),” he said.
Through the funding of the Department of Agriculture (DA), about 80 rainwater catchments were made. But later on, this project was taken over by Cagro since they purchased two excavators from the Disaster Fund and this is what the office used to make a rainwater catchment area. These catchment areas are located in Barangay Malamba, Marilog, and Barangay Colosas in Paquibato.
Cariño added that apart from helping farmers to have water for their plants, they could also use the collected rainwater for water consumption of their farm animals.
Additionally, creating catchment basins for rainwater is also a way to prevent flooding in the lower part of the city.
Cargo is hopeful that they could create a rainwater catchment basin in all of the interested barangays in the city.
Cariño pointed out that way back in 2009, the 15th Davao City Council passed the City Ordinance No. 0298-09 otherwise known as the Davao City Rainwater Ordinance. It was authored by former City Councilor Leo Avila III and seeks to promote rainwater harvesting systems all over the city.
The local legislation is based on a national law which is the Republic Act No. 6716 of 1989. Violation of the ordinance by a business or infrastructure owner may result in a fine of P1,000 but not exceeding P5,000 or an imprisonment of six months not exceeding one year depending on the decision of the court. RGP