Think long term

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor CHERYL CRUZ Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

Weather forecasters are warning that the worst of this iteration of the El Niño is still yet to come but losses in rice and corn crops due to drought this year have already amounted to P3.3 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture. The damage to farms caused by the drought that hasn't even peaked is already comparable to that of a strong typhoon.

Our agricultural sector is bound to suffer even more as the weather phenomenon that is characterized by the unusual warming of ocean surfaces and associated with drought and other extreme weather conditions is still expected to peak late this month and could last up to the first quarter of next year.

The Department of Agriculture estimates 65,855 farmers have been affected by the dry conditions and puts corn farmers who have lost 158,809 tons of the crops valued at P2.21 billion as the ones most affected and suffering the greatest losses. The production of rice, a staple grain for Filipino consumers, is also suffering, losing 58,485 tons valued at P1.09 billion to the drought so far.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. says aside from an information and communication program to educate the public about the weather phenomenon, the DA's El Niño action plan has two features: production support and water management. The plan has two objectives: maximizing and optimizing production in non-threatened areas, and saving vulnerable areas through appropriate irrigation intervention or crop shifting using short-gestation crops. The distribution of high quality seeds for rice and corn farmers is also expected to help mitigate the effects of the El Niño.

Aside from conducting cloud seeding operations in Negros Occidental, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Pampanga between April and June, and more recently in other parts of the country; the DA has also distributed pump and engine sets and open source pumps and released funds for the concreting of irrigation canals.

The government is expected to protect the small and poor farmers who are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of El Niño since they are already marginalized even when water supply is abundant but the long term goal should be to provide the infrastructure and support for the entire agricultural sector through good weather and bad.

While surviving this El Niño that is expected to be one of the worst in recent history is an urgent and immediate goal, our government should establish long term projects and programs that will protect our agriculture, food security, and economy in the face of a climate that has been turning harsher with every passing year.*