By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon in Negros Occidental has now reached more than P77.7 million.
The latest data from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist as of March 1, showed a total of P77,702,833.81 worth of crops were damaged due to the dry spell.
At least 1,646 hectares of farmland across 11 local government units (LGUs) have been damaged, while 1,963 farmers have been affected.
Kabankalan City has the highest crop damage at P41,726,761.01, with 1,214 farmers and 978.98 hectares of land in 13 barangays affected.
Cauayan town reported damage at P14,001,540, with 197 farmers and 176.66 hectares in 17 barangays affected.
The following LGUs also reported damage to crops due to El Niño:
* Ilog town (P7,487,370.24 in damage, with four barangays, 110 farmers and 110.68 hectares affected)
* Himamaylan City (P3,732,556.92, eight barangays, 110 farmers and 78.15 hectares)
* Valladolid town (P3,397,598.72, three barangays, 40 farmers and 64.83 hectares)
* Hinoba-an town (P2,525,595.60, four barangays, 110 farmers and 100.68 hectares)
* Hinigaran town (P1,751,055.20, five barangays, 51 farmers and 36.82 hectares)
* Sipalay City (P1,623,445.63, six barangays, 38 farmers and 32.77 hectares)
* Binalbagan town (P513,360, four barangays, seven farmers and 9.45 hectares)
* Moises Padilla town (P450,897.50, two barangays, four farmers and 5.36 hectares)
* Isabela town (P334,800, one barangay, one farmer and six hectares)
Cloud seeding
Meanwhile, the planned cloud seeding operation in southern Negros Occidental is unable to proceed.
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said he has coordinated with the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas to assess the situation in LGUs, particularly in southern Negros, severely affected by the drought.
“Their initial report said the potential clouds for seeding are only present in [LGUs] in northern Negros, like Don Salvador Benedicto, Calatrava, Escalante City, San Carlos City and Cadiz City,” Lacson said.
However, Lacson said that conducting the operation is not feasible yet due to the lack of cloud formations in southern Negros.
He confirmed that cloud seeding is expected to be implemented within the month, since the DA is still finalizing the budget.
Lacson added that representatives from the Bureau of Soil and Water Management will arrive in the province in the next three days for the assessment./DGB, WDJ