Manila: The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Tuesday assured preparations for the possible effects of Tropical Storm Kristine. During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas briefing, NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen said regional offices are activated to immediately provide aid to farmers who will be affected. 'Of course, ang ating utos ngayon sa regional directors na i-advise iyong mga farmers natin na (we instructed our regional directors to advise farmers to) harvest early,' he said. 'Iyong mga malalaking dams natin kapag mapupuno na… mag-pre-release sila para kapag may malakas man na ulan, makatulong pa rin (Our big dams, when they are nearly full, they should pre-release water so that it can still help when there's heavy rains).' Guillen assured the availability of a PHP300 million quick response fund in case there's a need for rehabilitation or repairs of irrigation facilities. Besides these, he said farmers may access indemnity under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation. According to th e Department of Agriculture-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center, around 1.311 million hectares of standing crops may be affected in the Cordillera and Ilocos Regions, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga. These include 1,103,582 hectares for rice, and 207,442 hectares for corn. Cropping calendar Guillen, meanwhile, reiterated the urgency to change the country's cropping calendar and intensity, not only to increase the local yield but also to help address climate change. 'Pag-aralan natin iyong mga weather pattern. You know climate change na e. Kapag climate change na, dapat magbago rin iyong ating sistema (We should study the weather pattern. You know there's already climate change, when there's climate change, the system must also change),' he said. Guillen emphasized that the cropping calendar shift is designed to protect crops from the destructive effects of typhoons, which frequently occur during the traditional planting p eriod. 'Kasi kapag umuulan, ma-swerte na kung maka (When it's raining, you're lucky enough to have) four tons per hectare. Pero (But) on this method, eight to 12 tons ang pwedeng anihin ng mga magsasaka (farmers can harvest up to eight to 12 tons per hectare),' Guillen said, citing improved harvest in line with the food security targets of the Marcos administration. Under the calendar shift, farmers may crop from October to February and March to July. 'Nasa 1.7 (cropping intensity) lang tayo, nakakaawa naman tayo. Ma-increase mo lang ng 2 or 2.5, gaya ng pinakamababa ng Vietnam, napakalaking improvement po niyan ng ating (We are only at 1.7, that's a pity on us. If you could increase it to two or 2.5, which is Vietnam's lowest, that's still a huge improvement on our) productivity,' Guillen said. To date, he said the NIA is conducting a pilot launch of the cropping calendar shift in all regions nationwide. The agency is also advancing the use of alternate wetting and drying technology and solar-powered ir rigation pump irrigation projects to further boost local productivity. (with reports from Heidi Lacambra, OJT/PNA) Source: Philippines News Agency
Wednesday, October 23, 2024