District Rep. Emilio “Dino” Yulo has enlisted the help of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrellla III to help convince Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel to conduct cloud seeding operations in Negros Occidental.
In a recent dialog with DAR officials at the sidelines of the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) to 2,797 agrarian reform beneficiaries in Bago City, Yulo relayed the concerns of many farmers whose farms were severely affected by the ongoing drought.
The Bureau of Soils and Water Management, which is supervised by the DA, has denied the request of Negros Occidental officials to conduct cloud seeding operations in the province, due to lack of viable clouds and moisture.
BSWM also said that induced rains may affect 20,659 mango trees in fruit development in San Carlos City and 2,752 trees in Guimaras.
Yulo said the ARBs, who have no capacity for irrigation systems, are now suffering crop production losses because of the drought.
The Negros Occidental solon said he is hoping that DAR Secretary Estrella will bring the pressing concerns of ARBs and farmers to the attention of Agriculture Secretary Laurel.
Estrella assured Yulo that he will relay the concerns of the Negros Occidental farmers to Laurel.
As of April 2, the damage to crops due to the ongoing drought has risen further to more than P97 million, affecting 2,585 farmers in 20 of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental.
On the other hand, Mayor Rogelio Raymund Tongson said that the P23 million savings of the Himamaylan City government in 2023, will be used to help farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
In an interview with RMN DYHB, Tongson said they are also planning to buy a water filtration truck, to be used in the distribution of potable water to residents of several Himamaylan City barangays.
He revealed that about 13 barangays in Himamaylan are now experiencing water shortage, including Nabali-an, Mambagaton, Su-ay, Malang, To-oy, San Antonio, Buenavista, Cabanbanan, Libacao, Cabadiangan, and Carabalan. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star)