Department of Agriculture allots P882 million for farmers, fisherfolk

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is allocating P882.18 million for mitigation measures for this year’s dry season crop and in preparation for this year’s wet cropping season.

The wet or main crop season starts either next month or in July after a prolonged dry spell.

According to Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla, the DA has earmarked an initial P882.18 million for the accelerated implementation of mitigation measures for farmers and fisherfolk in 14 provinces in Luzon and the Visayas.

“The slew of mitigation measures range from cloud seeding to the provision of shallow tube wells (STWs) and open source pump irrigation systems to close monitoring of a possible drought-triggered outbreak of pests and diseases,” Fondevilla said.

The DA’s regional field units (RFUs) in the El Niño-hit regions have drawn up with local government units (LGUs) their respective master lists of affected farmers eligible for food aid under the emergency food assistance program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

A separate master list has also been prepared by RFUs and LGUs for farmer-victims qualified to enroll in the skills training programs of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) or for possible emergency employment for the construction or repair of farm-to-market roads (FMRs) and irrigation facilities.

The 14 affected provinces are Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in Northern Luzon; Bulacan and Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon; Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon in the MIMAROPA area or Region 4-B; Masbate in Bicol; and Antique, Guimaras and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas.

The DA is set to release today the first quarter agriculture sector growth which will reflect the effect of the prolonged dry spell on the country’s crop production.

Harvesting of the dry cropping season peaks in April.