'Where are the local government units, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Agrarian Reform? ... And with the onset of El Niño only a month away, it's once again too late, and too little,' complains an organic farmers' group leader.
GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Several farmers and agriculture experts in the Soccsksargen region have expressed serious concerns about the government’s response and approach in the face of an impending widespread dry spell that would likely adversely affect farmlands in Mindanao and elsewhere in the next two to three months until 2024.
PAGASA has declared an El Niño Alert based on the El Niño Southern Oscillation Alert and Warning System. Former agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol, now an advocate of agriculture and farming technologies based in Cotabato province, questioned the Department of Agriculture’s decision to seek a budget of P18 million for cloud seeding operations and other measures to mitigate the effects of the impending El Niño phenomenon.
Instead, Piñol said the best way to prepare for El Niño is through long-term water management and conservation plans, including impounding run-off water whenever it rains, constructing levees or sabo dams, establishing water catchments, and implementing solar-powered irrigation systems. “Where are the local government units, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Agrarian Reform? We read in the papers that the national government is still formulating a response plan to El Niño. And with the onset of El Niño only a month away, it’s once again too late and too little!” expressed a visibly worried Cejar.
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