DA braces for El Niño

CEBU, Philippines -  The Department of Agriculture has started its preparation to mitigate the effects of El Niño which is expected to start at the later part of October or by the end of the year.

Part of the preparation is the holding of an information caravan on drought mitigation.

Joel Elumba, DA technical team officer-in-charge, said the caravan will visit every municipality and component cities of Cebu to discuss with the farmers the preventive measures and other preparations.

Gerry Avila, agriculture marketing and agribusiness division chief, however, said that the expected El Niño is "very weak."

  "It is a very weak El Niño, meaning naa but not as heat as before (nga) technically drought gyud, but i-anticipate sad nato nga ma-change ang forecast," Avila told The FREEMAN.

Avila said they are preparing the farmers on their planting calendar and advised to save water. Farmers were also encouraged to plant vegetables and other crops that could sustain hot temperature.

"Conserving water is a noble thing to do and it is not only our farmers who are asked to save water but also the entire community," Avila said.

Farmers were likewise asked to help monitor the irrigation facilities in their area and to immediately report to DA any concerns ahead of time.

Also part of the caravan is providing a livestock breeding assistance and artificial insemination of crops.

DA is also fast tracking the purchase of pipe and drums which are to be distributed to farmers in the region before the onset of El Niño.

   "Kasagaran kanang naa sa mga bukid kay lisod na sila ug tubig…naa man gani tubig kuyaw sad mahubas tungod unya sa kainit maong gidali namo ang purchase sa drums and pipes," Avila said.

El Niño is a weather phenomenon associated with a band of warm ocean water temperatures and prolonged warming that periodically develops off the Pacific coast. This happened at irregular intervals of two to seven years and lasts nine months to two years.

When this warming occurs for only seven to nine months it is classified as El Niño "conditions" but when it occurs for more than that period, it is classified as El Niño "episodes."

El Niño can affect the commodity prices and can constrain the supply of rain-driven agricultural commodities; reduce agricultural output, construction, and services activities; create food-price inflation; and may trigger social unrest in commodity-dependent poor countries that primarily rely on imported food. (FREEMAN)