Palace bares comprehensive plan to address El Niño

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday revealed the salient features of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA)’s comprehensive plan to address the El Niño phenomenon to dispel fears that the government might not be ready for the effects of a severe drought.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the DA’s El Niño action plan has two features: production support and water management.

The plan also includes an information and communication program to educate the public about the weather phenomenon, Coloma said.

The plan has two objectives: maximizing and optimizing production in non-threatened areas, and saving vulnerable areas through appropriate irrigation intervention or crop shifting using short-gestation crops. 

Because not all agriculture areas would be affected by El Niño, Coloma said the DA would concentrate on enhancing production in non-affected areas.

For areas that will be affected, Coloma said the DA would irrigate farmlands and encourage farmers to plant short gestation crops for immediate harvest.

As soon as El Niño is over, the DA will rehabilitate vulnerable areas for future use, Coloma said.

For water management, Coloma said the DA, in coordination with the Philippine Air Force would conduct cloud seeding operations.

“The intensified implementation of alternate wetting and drying, that is their strategy on water management,” he said.

“There is also the provision of open source pumps at installation of solar and wind pump irrigation systems for high-value crops. There are also alternative irrigation systems,” Coloma said.

Also part of El Niño mitigation efforts is the distribution of high-quality seeds for rice and corn farmers. They will also be supplied with mungbean, peanut, soybean, sweet potato and cucurbits crops. 

“The pest surveillance and monitoring will also be intensified and soil ameliorant will also be provided,” Coloma said, noting the initiative would also cover livestock and fisheries.

The DA will provide livestock buffer feed stocking, as well as veterinary drugs, and will advise growers to plant drought-resistant forage for animal feed.

For the fishery sector, the DA will dispense fingerlings to replenish the projected production losses.

El Niño is expected to hit the country beginning this month until the first few months of next year.