Gov’t to mitigate El Niño impact with water, crop management

THE GOVERNMENT will promote properwater management and push for crop diversification to mitigate the potential impacts of El Niño, which is expected to affect the agriculture sector, according to Malacañang.  

The strategies that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has adopted in anticipation of the dry and warm weather condition also include adjustment of planting calendar, buffer stocking of inputs and promotion of short cycle and drought tolerant crops, among others, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.  

We in the DA are doing our best in trying to allocate the resources like seeds, fertilizers, and other commodities that are necessary for the impact of the El Niño phenomenon to the farming communities in the country,Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban said during a June 1 meeting of the DAs National El Niño Team, based on the PCO release.  

DA is already preparing for the worst scenario for El Niño this year. Nevertheless, we will be of course expecting (state weather agency) PAGASA to provide us regular updates on this,DA Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel V. De Mesa said.  

He noted that not all parts of the country will be affected, thus the government initiatives could focus more on areas that will be severely hit.  

Mr. De Mesa also urged the representatives from partner government agencies to facilitate easy access and sharing of information with the DA to guide planning and decision-making activities,the PCO said. Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza