The lack of government action to mitigate the impact of El Niño made it more difficult for farmers in drought-stricken areas to recoup their losses, a non-governmental organization (NGO) said on Monday.
Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) said farmers made this complaint during a recent assembly of farmers and local government units (LGUs) in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.
“The interventions from the local and national government were delayed and not enough to cover for the losses we already incurred from the drought,” Joseph Tolentino, president of Koronadal City Integrated Climate Resilient Farmers Association, said.
“The provincial agriculture office distributed vegetable and fruit seedlings from the national government as alternative crops to palay. However, these were lost as well,” Tolentino added.
In the exchange during the meeting of R1 with LGUs and farmers, the latter said the LGUs were “amiss” in providing production support and other measures to prepare the farmers from the injurious impact of El Niño.
The LGUs cited as reason for the delay and lack of support the election prohibition to bid and purchase planting materials and other production support for farmers.
Quoting those who attended the assembly, R1 said farmers have not planted rice since last year because of the drought. Some of the farmers, the group said, have resorted to eating rats and to stealing to feed their families.
R1 convenor Aurora Regalado said the candidates in the coming election need to be clear on their programs to alleviate the impact of climate change on the people.
Regalado said the magnitude of losses on people’s lives and livelihood deserves more than the candidates’ “plain talk and promises.”
“We are experiencing the impact now and we have seen the worst because of delayed action. We expect more extreme events and La Niña is looming in the horizon, following the drought we experienced,” she said.
R1 is training farmers on how to adapt to the worsening impact of climate change. Farmers in different parts of the country have embraced the group’s Climate Resiliency Field School (CrFS) that helped them improve their farming technology, used climate-resilient seeds and inputs, while diversifying in other crops for additional income in case their crops are damaged by extreme weather.
Farmers in several towns in South Cotabato, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat have attended the CrFS and were able to withstand the impact of drought, although, some of them still experienced production losses. The farmers’ associations partnered with the Department of Agriculture in Region 12 to distribute seeds, fertilizers to others who suffered devastation.
Aside from the training of farmers, R1 has partnered with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and LGUs in installing Automatic Weather Station (AWS) in eight Mindanao municipalities.
The AWS generates local weather data to inform the LGUs of the risks threatening the communities during extreme weather events. In this way, the LGUs can better provide early-warning advice on how to prepare the communities and prevent damages and losses on people’s lives and properties.