DAVAO CITY—The regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Davao said it would seek P95 million from the national government to bankroll an initiative aimed at mitigating the impact of the El Niño, which is expected to last until next year.
The mitigation plan focuses on water impounding and extraction for rice farmers and cash crops like banana and pineapple—two of the country’s major farm exports grown in the Davao region.
DA Regional Director Remelyn Recoter made the announcement following a consultative meeting with provincial agriculturists and veterinarians. Recoter convened the meeting after the Malacañang said it has called for a top-level meeting this week to look into options for mitigating the adverse impact of the dry spell.
The DA said the proposed plan “is based on the weather bureau’s forecast that the region might experience near normal rainfall condition from August to November 2015, while below-normal condition is expected from November 2015 to January 2016.”
“December and January will be our critical period as the forecast says the region will expect lowest rainfall pattern, particularly in the provinces of Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur,” Recoter said.
Among the strategies they identified include the installation of 200 open-source pumps (OSPs) for irrigators’ associations (IAs) under the rice program. Another 25 units of OSPs would be installed through the provincial local government units under the corn program.
For the high-value crops program, the region has proposed the rollout of small-scale irrigation projects, such as spring development and water-pump rehabilitation. The program would provide vegetable seeds “including mungbeans and soya beans.”
“Other interventions for crop subsector include buffer stocking of seeds for farmers to immediate plant and recover after the dry spell. We will also provide pesticides and rodenticides as pests outbreak is expected during droughts,” Recoter said.
For the livestock subsector, the DA regional office would provide vitamins and antibiotics, ensure buffer stocks for forage seeds and train farmers on silage making.