LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Albayanos considered a moderate rainfall Saturday night as heaven-sent as drought has affected 1,539 hectares of rain-fed rice fields in the province since March.
The state weather bureau, in its latest forecast, said the dry spell could start in June and could last for nine months due to the El Niño phenomenon.
“Dear Lord, thank you for the benign rainfall. Our flora and fauna and aquifers, our farm and factories need them,†said Albay Gov. Joey Salceda.
The Provincial Agricultural Services (PAS) office has reported that the lack of rainfall has affected more than 1,538.77 hectares of rain-fed rice farms since March.
The dry spell, according to PAS coordinator Ernesto de la Torre, has affected some 700 hectares in Daraga, 245 hectares in Ligao City, 219 hectares in Camalig, 109 hectares in Polangui, 75 hectares in Oas, 130 hectares in Libon, and another 60 hectares in this city.
Albay has 5,962 hectares of rain-fed rice farms and 20,546 hectares of fully irrigated rice fields, providing 1.2 million Albayanos with some 220,980 metric tons of palay in two harvest seasons a year.
De la Torre said the dry spell is threatening the rice self-sufficiency program of the provincial government.
Salceda raised the alarm on the dry spell among Albayanos as early as March, and ordered local disaster councils to prepare for its effects on food security, public health, and water and power supply.
El Niño is a weather phenomenon in which warmer water from the western Pacific Ocean flows toward the east, disrupting atmospheric systems. It creates a major shift in rainfall, bringing floods and landslides to arid countries and drought to areas in the western Pacific.