DA- HVCC allocates budget for El Niño interventions

THE Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit 10 through the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani-High Value Commercial Crops ( GMA-HVCC ) program has allocated P11.9 million budget for CY 2010 to carry out its interventions in the mitigation of the effects of El Niño phenomenon.

President Gloria Arroyo has re-activated the El Niño Task Force on January 26, 2010 and ordered the release of P 1.7 billion to fund emergency measures to mitigate the detrimental effects of the dry spell.

Among the GMA-HVCC’s intervention to combat El Niño are the distribution of planting materials worth P1 million which are mainly rootcrops like camote, cassava and ginger.
These planting materials are purposely distributed to farmers because these crops are tolerant to extreme heat.

Assorted vegetable seeds will also be distributed worth 1 million pesos. P1.5 million assistance will also be given to mango farmers for chemical flower inducers.
Small Scale Irrigation projects will also be established in vegetable producing areas.

These are 20 units of drip irrigation system that will be installed worth P900,000; 23 units Small Farm Reservoir worth P675,000; 32 units Power Sprayer worth P475,000 and 65 units Pressurized Irrigation Supply Open Source worth P 5,525,000.

It has been forecasted that Misamis Oriental is one of the 23 highly vulnerable areas aside from other vulnerable areas identified by the PAGASA and Bukidnon as one of the 24 forecasted areas included as moderately vulnerable.
Thus, the Department of Agriculture has seen to it that these interventions are properly allocated with enough budget so as to carry-out these projects successfully.

DA-10 Regional Executive Director of Lealyn A. Ramos said that farmers can also use practical methods to lessen the effects of El Niño by practicing mulching and desilting.

Mulching is the process of spreading organic mulches or soil covering from plant residues and synthetic materials over the ground between crop rows or around tree trunk to protect the soil.
This method of mitigation minimizes cracking of soil thereby reducing the water requirement of a crop.

Desilting on the one hand is the cleaning up of irrigation systems from materials that obstruct the efficient flow of water, in this way water will flow as smoothly as possible giving enough water to crops affected by the drought.

PAGASA forecasted that Philippines most likely to experience hotter and longer summer and El Niño phenomenon is expected to last until June this year.
Thus these interventions will greatly help to lessen El Niño’s ill effects to our environment and most especially the vegetable industry.

Projected effects of El Niño could result as much as P20 billion economic loss in the next six months. Therefore, with these mitigating measures, the DA-RFU-10 is hoping that damage and losses are kept at minimum levels with the interventions at hand. A report from Suzy May A. Roa.