DA maps out irrigation strategies for El Niño

MANILA, Philippines —  The Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued irrigation directives to finalize strategies for the El Niño phenomenon, which is expected to intensify by February to April next year.

The agency said officials in Regions 1, 2, 3 and the Cordillera Administrative Region met yesterday to finalize strategies to ensure that food production would not greatly suffer with the ongoing El Niño.

During the meeting, DA Undersecretary for rice industry development Leocadio Sebastian asked the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in these regions to program the release of water, deploy water pumps directly to farmers and propagate to clustered irrigators associations the alternate wet and dry system to ensure that water supply reaches as many farmers as possible and to prevent palay from being soaked.

Sebastian said water utilization must be done prudently not only to stretch supply but also in keeping with carbon reduction efforts that are being practiced globally.

He also advised regional field office (RFO) heads and NIA officers to request a budget for cloud seeding.

Sebastian sought closer convergence, coordination and cooperation among the RFOs, NIA, the Philippine Rice Research Institute and other DA agencies and to work closely with private sector suppliers of input and technology to ensure faster modernization of the sector.

He also asked RFOs to prioritize their support to clustered irrigators associations for the dry season crop. –  Bella Cariaso