AGRICULTURE Secretary Proceso Alcala on Wednesday urged rice farmers to plant early and take advantage of the water supply brought about by the onset of the rains in order to maximize their harvests. The DA chief said that planting palay at the onset of the rainy season would enhance prospects for better harvest as rice crops would have passed its flowering stage by July when it is expected to rain the most.
“Farmers must take advantage of the intermittent rains especially in rainfed areas. Besides planting early, I urge them, as well as other stakeholders who are dependent on water for their food production activities, to save water and take active actions related to water impounding initiatives of the government” Alcala said. He said that the agency was thankful for the forecasts issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) as it enabled the DA to lay-out efficient strategies to assist farmers.
However, he warned that the onset of rains does not mean that the El Niño dry spell is over. “As per experts’ advice, the dry spell will start weak and grow moderate until August this year. The phenomenon will persist until December and will start weakening until early 2016,” he said. He assured farmers that the DA has already mapped out a variety of climate adaptation measures to cushion the impact of adverse weather changes, which included the scheduling of cloud seeding operations in case there is a need to induce rains during a long dry spell.
“We are also ready to install water pumps and solar water pumps in communities that will need water supply augmentation,” Alcala said. (PNA)
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
