NIA's El Niño short-term solutions: Prioritize areas for irrigation, alternate wetting and drying
MANILA, Philippines — The National Irrigation Administration on Monday said it has identified areas that will be prioritized for irrigation, and will implement the alternate wetting and drying technique to address the threats posed by El Niño on the country’s water supply.
Eduardo Guillen, acting administrator of NIA, said these are the agency’s “short-term solutions” to mitigate the impacts of El Niño, which can deplete water supplies and cause significant losses in agricultural production.
Alternate wetting and drying is a water-saving technology that farmers can apply to reduce their irrigation water consumption in rice fields without decreasing its yield, according to the International Rice Research Institute.
Guillen added that hybrid varieties of rice and high value crops will be planted in affected areas. According to the NIA official, parts of Luzon and Visayas will be mostly affected by El Niño.
“A long-term solution is building high dams,” Guillen said, noting these would not only address water woes but also generate power. Large dams, however, submerge communities, force people to relocate, and threaten biodiversity.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. earlier ordered the creation of an El Niño team to strengthen the country’s preparations for the adverse impacts of the phenomenon.
‘Collection pools’
Marcos, in a separate interview on Monday, also said the government will install “collection pools” that will harvest rainwater.
“What we need to do is collect that so when El Niño arrives, we already have a source of water,” Marcos told former social welfare chief Erwin Tulfo, in an interview that aired over state-run Radyo Pilipinas.
The country has a law directing the Department of Public Works and Highways to construct rainwater collectors. The legislation was passed in 1989.
The president added that local government units can create their own plans to ensure water supply in their areas.
“If what we’re doing is still not enough, we will study which areas will be prioritized: cities or agricultural areas,” Marcos said.
“We are slowly converting our dependence on water supply from underground water to surface water,” he added.
State weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Administration (PAG-ASA) said the probability of the occurrence of El Niño this coming June, July and August increased to 80%.
The probability may also spike to about 86% for the months of November, December and January.
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