Luzon farms go dry amid fears of drought

MANILA (AFP) - Tens of thousands of hectares of farmland are being laid to waste by a lengthening dry spell in the main Philippine island of Luzon, officials said Thursday.

However, the farm sector that accounts for just under a fifth of domestic economic output should still post modest growth because the rest of the country has received normal rainfall or has adequate irrigation, the agricultural department said.

The civil defence office said farms in the northern section of Luzon were the worst hit with at least 127,359 hectares (314,577 acres) of farmland affected, while some 41,815 hectares of fishponds in these areas had gone dry.

Relief aid has been disbursed in the province of La Union, with three other neighboring provinces considering the same, it said in a statement.

The government is fielding air force and commercial aircraft to artificially induce rain by spraying clouds with chemicals, it added.

The government weather bureau said June and July rainfall patterns in much of Luzon, including Manila were below normal and this had led to dry spell conditions that could lead to drought if these persist until late this year.

Manila was hit by three-hour power outages last month as hydro-electric plants ground to a halt due to low water levels.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the dry spell has not reached critical levels and the government was trying to mitigate the effects through cloud seeding and by urging farmers to plant short gestating crops, vegetables and root crops that do not require too much water.

"We are optimistic that with the coming rains, the water levels on (Luzon's Pantabangan and Magat) dams will increase," Yap said in a statement.