CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Most of the 48,454 hectares of rice farms in Pampanga are surviving the dry spell.
As of Monday, palay grown in 705 hectares in the province’s fourth district have so far wilted “with no chances of recovery,” according to Roland Imperial, assistant director of the Department of Agriculture in Central Luzon.
Rice in 6,162 hectares have been harvested, he said, citing the report of the Office of the Provincial Agricultural Office in Pampanga. This brought the standing crop to 42,292 hectares.
Farms are able to withstand the lack of rains for various reasons. The ground still has adequate moisture from last year’s rains or floods. Irrigation facilities are also available to farmers, he said.
“The damages for now are also less because farmers heeded the DA’s advice last October to shift to crops that need less water like watermelon and tomatoes,” Imperial said in a phone interview. The areas planted to rice usually go double during the wet season when farmers without money for irrigation fees rely on the rains instead.
Imperial also clarified that the declaration of emergency in relation to problems that beset the agricultural sector is mainly the task of local governments.
He said the state of emergency, as proposed by Rep. Anna York Bondoc for the fourth district of Pampanga amid the lack of waters for farms there, will have to be declared through a resolution passed by the legislative councils of the local or provincial governments.
This was because the DA devolved mostly of its personnel to local and provincial governments.
The DA, as a support agency, will concur with the declaration after it has verified the situation on the ground.
Imperial said Bondoc has requested funds for areas that were reported to be vulnerable and threatened by the long dry spell.
NO WATER FOR 1,397 HECTARES
In the fourth district, where the downstream of the Pampanga River cut through and is bordered by the Angat-Maasim River Irrigation System (Amris), a total of 3,397 hectares are “threatened” and only 2,000 has will be “completely supplied” with water, Imperial said, citing a report of the National Irrigation Administration provincial manager.
Bondoc, according to him, has sought alternative sources of water for the balance of 1,397 hectares through shallow tube wells (STWs) or small water impounding projects.
The Bureau of Soils and Water Management also allocated funds for STWs, it was learned.
“Some of these areas are only planted with rice during wet season. The water from Amris is really not enough during the dry season,” Imperial said.
“At this point in time, we based our allocation [of funds] on the reports that are coming in as far as area of production is concerned. These are the reports that we received from [provincial and municipal agriculturist] with the assistance of [regional and municipal agriculture and fisheries councils],” he said, adding the DA is “allowed to use our regular funds to address this problem.”
FUNDS
The regional DA has “initially allocated” P31.2M for interventions easing the effects of the dry spell associated with the El NiHo weather phenomenon.
In a report, the Pampanga Agricultural and Aquacultural Development Council has approved P23,930,909.30 million as budget of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) this 2010.
Acting provincial agriculturist Crispin Guintu said the council prioritized organic agriculture and high value commercial crops production.
Guintu said P7.7 million for post-harvest facilities will be put in place this year. These are in addition to the 21 STWs and seven drum seeders that are part of measures to ease the impact of the dry spell.
The OPA budget also covers rice production program, P2,505,600; corn production program, P1,909,950; high value commercial crops, P2,542,604; organic agriculture, P2,551,881.90; fishery program, P2,500,500; provincial tilapia hatchery, P1,499,550; agribusiness, P701,100; institutional development, P785,833.40; training and research development, P570,000; integrated pest management, P450,000; provincial plant nursery, P127,500; and information and publication, P135,840.
As of Monday, palay grown in 705 hectares in the province’s fourth district have so far wilted “with no chances of recovery,” according to Roland Imperial, assistant director of the Department of Agriculture in Central Luzon.
Rice in 6,162 hectares have been harvested, he said, citing the report of the Office of the Provincial Agricultural Office in Pampanga. This brought the standing crop to 42,292 hectares.
Farms are able to withstand the lack of rains for various reasons. The ground still has adequate moisture from last year’s rains or floods. Irrigation facilities are also available to farmers, he said.
“The damages for now are also less because farmers heeded the DA’s advice last October to shift to crops that need less water like watermelon and tomatoes,” Imperial said in a phone interview. The areas planted to rice usually go double during the wet season when farmers without money for irrigation fees rely on the rains instead.
Imperial also clarified that the declaration of emergency in relation to problems that beset the agricultural sector is mainly the task of local governments.
He said the state of emergency, as proposed by Rep. Anna York Bondoc for the fourth district of Pampanga amid the lack of waters for farms there, will have to be declared through a resolution passed by the legislative councils of the local or provincial governments.
This was because the DA devolved mostly of its personnel to local and provincial governments.
The DA, as a support agency, will concur with the declaration after it has verified the situation on the ground.
Imperial said Bondoc has requested funds for areas that were reported to be vulnerable and threatened by the long dry spell.
NO WATER FOR 1,397 HECTARES
In the fourth district, where the downstream of the Pampanga River cut through and is bordered by the Angat-Maasim River Irrigation System (Amris), a total of 3,397 hectares are “threatened” and only 2,000 has will be “completely supplied” with water, Imperial said, citing a report of the National Irrigation Administration provincial manager.
Bondoc, according to him, has sought alternative sources of water for the balance of 1,397 hectares through shallow tube wells (STWs) or small water impounding projects.
The Bureau of Soils and Water Management also allocated funds for STWs, it was learned.
“Some of these areas are only planted with rice during wet season. The water from Amris is really not enough during the dry season,” Imperial said.
“At this point in time, we based our allocation [of funds] on the reports that are coming in as far as area of production is concerned. These are the reports that we received from [provincial and municipal agriculturist] with the assistance of [regional and municipal agriculture and fisheries councils],” he said, adding the DA is “allowed to use our regular funds to address this problem.”
FUNDS
The regional DA has “initially allocated” P31.2M for interventions easing the effects of the dry spell associated with the El NiHo weather phenomenon.
In a report, the Pampanga Agricultural and Aquacultural Development Council has approved P23,930,909.30 million as budget of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) this 2010.
Acting provincial agriculturist Crispin Guintu said the council prioritized organic agriculture and high value commercial crops production.
Guintu said P7.7 million for post-harvest facilities will be put in place this year. These are in addition to the 21 STWs and seven drum seeders that are part of measures to ease the impact of the dry spell.
The OPA budget also covers rice production program, P2,505,600; corn production program, P1,909,950; high value commercial crops, P2,542,604; organic agriculture, P2,551,881.90; fishery program, P2,500,500; provincial tilapia hatchery, P1,499,550; agribusiness, P701,100; institutional development, P785,833.40; training and research development, P570,000; integrated pest management, P450,000; provincial plant nursery, P127,500; and information and publication, P135,840.
