The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has identified areas that will be prioritized for irrigation, and will implement the alternate wetting and drying technique to address threats posed by El Niño on the country’s water supply, an official said on Monday.
“These are the agency’s ‘short-term solutions’ to mitigate the impacts of El Niño, which can deplete water supplies and cause significant losses in agricultural production,” Eduardo Guillen, Acting Administrator of NIA said during the Laging Handa media briefing.
Alternate wetting and drying is a water-saving technology that farmers can apply to reduce their irrigation water consumption in rice fields without sacrificing farm yield, the International Rice Research Institute said.
Meanwhile, Guillen added that hybrid varieties of rice and high value crops would be planted in affected areas.
Parts of Luzon and Visayas will be mostly affected by El Niño, he said.
“A long-term solution is building high dams,” Guillen said, noting these would not only address water woes but also generate power. Large dams, however, submerge communities, force people to relocate, and threaten biodiversity.
Earlier, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ordered the creation of an El Niño team to strengthen the country’s preparations for the adverse impacts of the phenomenon.