President Marcos vows sufficient irrigation during dry spell

MANILA, Philippines — The government is undertaking measures to ensure sufficient supply of water for irrigation during El Niño, President Marcos said yesterday as the state weather bureau warned of a possible dry spell in the latter part of 2023 until early next year.

Marcos, who concurrently serves as agriculture secretary, said among the steps the government is considering are changing the designs of dams and the use of solar power to run irrigation pumps.

“Now we are concerned about El Niño. And we are making many plans so that (the allocation) for irrigation will not be reduced,” the President said in a speech during the distribution of projects and programs at the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija.

In another interview aired over PTV yesterday, the President said they are also looking at rainwater harvesting as another solution to augment water supply in preparation for El Niño.

Apart from addressing the irrigation problem, Marcos said the government is also working to improve research and development to increase agricultural productivity.

National Irrigation Administration acting chief Eduardo Guillen last week said they have formulated short-, medium- and long-term solutions to the impending drought to hit the country in the next months.

“In fact, we have what is called a cropping calendar where we plan how much we can irrigate. And here, we are prioritizing those areas that are close to the source for rice planting,” Guillen told a Palace briefing.

He said the government is pushing for the planting of hybrid rice during the dry season. “We will concentrate on hybrid rice because its output is actually two times during the dry season.”

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA) deputy administrator Esperanza Cayanan has said El Niño, which brings below normal rainfall, could intensify in the last quarter of the year or early next year.

In February, Marcos approved the creation of a Water Resource Management Office to manage the country’s water resources and respond to the current environmental challenges.

Solar pumps

In the House of Representatives, the Ako Bicol party-list is pushing for a water supply system that will utilize solar energy to provide clean and reliable source of water to water-less communities.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co said his group is conducting geo-resistivity survey to establish a sustainable water supply system, particularly in San Miguel island in Tabaco City, Albay.

The proposed Ako Bicol Level II Solar Powered Water Supply System will use solar energy to provide a clean and reliable source of water to communities.

It is also expected to help mitigate the effects of El Niño.

P15 million budget

In Negros, the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA) has sought a P15-million budget to soften the impact of El Niño to Negrense farmers, according to OPA head Edmundo Causing.

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said he is supporting the call of Negros Occidental 5th district Rep. Emilio Yulo for cloud seeding operations in the agricultural areas in Negros Occidental, especially the sugar plantations.

Lacson said cloud seeding is one of the options to alleviate the dry condition, pointing out there is still cloud cover and some areas are even experiencing rainfall.

High value crops

The country urgently needs develop its high-value crop industry to diversify and boost agricultural production, Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday at the event she attended with President Marcos in Nueva Ecija.

Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on agriculture and food, lamented the country’s agricultural sector still has limited diversity, low productivity and has only a few successful high-value agribusinesses 28 years since the enactment of Republic Act.7900 or the High-Value Crops Development Act of 1995.

“High-value crops refer to crops that have defined regular or niche market or has potential domestic and/or export markets, or command high prices, whether in fresh or processed form. High-value crops provide higher net returns per hectare or crops that have competitive returns on investments,” she said.

Villar’s call was echoed by President Marcos.

Villar said RA 7900 was passed to help the agriculture sector diversify crop production and promote the development of agribusiness value chain but the country still has a long way to go to reach that law’s goals. —  Delon Porcalla, Gilbert Bayoran, Bella Cariaso, Paolo Romero