• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said Monday that the province will maximize the water availability for irrigated lands as farmers brace for drought due to El Niño phenomenon in the next few months.
Sixty percent of rice lands in Negros Occidental are irrigated, and the provincial government is now identifying impounding areas for water storage, even putting up small pumps, to boost water supply during the drought season.
Lacson said Negros Occidental is 84 percent rice sufficient due to production of rice from 60 percent irrigated farmlands, especially in Bago City and neighboring areas.
The remaining 40 percent rice fields are dependent on rainfed agriculture.
“Their contribution is small, what is important is the 60 percent irrigated farmlands,” he added.
By May this year, some 77 percent of provinces in the country may experience drought, and seven percent may experience dry spell, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration- Department of Science and Technology.
With this development, Lacson said Negrense farmers now realize how important it is not to waste available water.
From an average rice production of four tons per hectare, farmers are nearing five tons of production, he noted.
Lacson said he is challenging them to produce six tons per hectare to increase the province’s rice supply.
“We are bracing for the hard effects of El Niño, but we are also preparing,” he added.
El Niño phenomenon increases the likelihood of below-normal rainfall conditions, potentially causing dry spells, droughts, and other adverse environmental effects. | GB
