DAVAO CITY – The Department of Agriculture XI (DA) said on Monday that it has readied necessary interventions to mitigate the effects of the long dry season brought about by the El Niño phenomenon in the region.
Field Operations Division Supervisin g Agriculturist Herna Palma said that they already have prepared interventions long before the beginning of the dry season.
“Wala pa ang El Niño, naa na tay mga buffer stocking ngagiandam nianaa sa palay. Naa tay giandam na 4, 200 bags nacertified seeds, 1,130 bags na registered seeds. Sa mais namannaa tay 6,923 bags amounting to 9 million (Before the occurrence of El Niño, we already had buffer stocking of rice. We have 4,200 bags certified seeds and 1,130 bags registered seeds. For corn, we also have 6,923 bags amounting to 9 million),” Palma said.
Palma said they also prepared 125 units Pump Irrigation System and five units Pump Irrigation System (Open Source for Rehabilitation).
The High Value Crop Development Program (HVCDP) prepared 575 drums, 66 bags mungbean, one unit spring development and one unit farm reservoir.
“Prepared na ang mga seeds kung mag-undang na ang El Niño pwede na nato ihatag sa m ga farmers (The seeds are already prepared in case that the El Niño will stop, we can already give it to the farmers),’ Palma said.
She also added that for this year the DA is allocating a total of P22, 217,600 cash assistance for the El Niño phenomenon.
Palma said that as of April 21 this year they have recorded a total loss of P55.9 million for both rice and corn destructed by the phenomenon.(davaotoday.com)
