VICE Governor Dionisio Victor A. Balite, who is now acting governor, broke his silence last week over the call for the stoppage of the cloud seeding operations in the skies of Bohol.
Balite told the officers of the Bohol Coconut Farmers and Stakeholders Federation in meeting held at the Goveror’s mansion last week that cloud seeding is necessary for farmers to prepare their farm lots for planting.
He also said that the cloud seeding operations must push thru based on the scientific data available from government agencies, like the PAGASA.
The push for more cloud seeding operations has been indorsed by the Technical Working Group composed of government agencies who worked hard to facilitate rain cloud.
Meanwhile, irrigation activities seen to catch up for the wet cropping season. The National Irrigation Administration is positive that irrigation for target service areas will be caught up by August.
On Friday’s The Capitol Reports, Engr. Maria Donesa Autida, Acting Chief of the Operations Section of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Region 7 reported that the agency has begun initial irrigation activities in major National Irrigation Systems.
According to her, 1,975 hectares or 47% of service areas in Malinao Dam in Pilar have been irrigated for the wet cropping season; 1,030 hectares or 30% of target service areas in Malinao Dam in San Miguel; 70 hectares or 7% of target service areas in Capayas Dam as well as 30 hectares or 3% of target service areas in Benliw Dam, both in Ubay; and 30 hectares or 13% of target service areas in Zamora Dam in Talibon.
However, Autida noted that the current 3-48% irrigation is considerably low compared to previous numbers reaching 55-90% for the same period.
She said the current ENSO-neutral weather and cloud seeding activities could allow irrigation activities to reach 100% in August, in time for the start of the wet cropping season. “El Niño depleted water sources for the wet cropping season,” she explained, citing that water sources especially in communal irrigation systems were at low, critical, and some even dried-up levels. Continuing cloud seeding activities will greatly help with the land preparation, she added.
Dr. Larry Pamugas, acting head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), also shared the same optimism.
“This is not the first time that we are experiencing below-normal rainfall,” he said, adding that interventions are in place to support farmers.
Pamugas bared that 606 hectares of farmland have been prepared for rice so far, 253 hectares for corn, 58 hectares for High-Value Crops, 4 hectares for cassava, and 5.5 hectares for ubi. This was based on data gathered from 16 Local Government Units (LGUs), he said, also reporting that OPA staff have been deployed to LGUs for data gathering specific to land preparation.
Danilo Genosas, chairperson of the La Suerte Farmers Association in Pilar looked forward to the support of agriculture-related agencies to ease the impacts of the El Niño.
As of June 20, P458,744,648 in agricultural damage has been reported in 41 LGUs for crops, 15 LGUs for fisheries, and 8 LGUs for livestock. Validated data as of June 18, also showed that 22,748 farmers have been affected by the El Niño.
The cloud seeding task force has conducted 9 rounds of cloud seeding operations as of Friday, June 21. The intervention is one of the measures prepared by the Provincial Government of Bohol and the El Niño Task Force as early as last year through the directive and facilitation of Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado. (rvo with PIMO report)
