BY JEN BAYLON

Cloud seeding operations in Negros Occidental have been put on hold as it will trigger lahar flows in areas already affected by the phreatic eruption of Kanlaon Volcano, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson said the suspension of cloud seeding operations will prevent further damage to affected communities as this will induce more rain.

“All we wanted was to intensify the rain but, unfortunately, Mt. Kanlaon erupted,” Lacson said.

“Many planters I’ve talked to still want more rain, but after what happened to Mt. Kanlaon, which caused lahar flow and affected areas like La Castellana and [Barangay] Biak na Bato, we decided to put it on hold and start with Iloilo instead,” he added.

Earlier, the United Sugar Producers Federation (Unifed), in a statement, said the 15-day cloud seeding operations in Negros and Panay islands started on Tuesday, June 11.

Unifed president Manuel Lamata said the rain experienced in Bacolod City recently was induced through the seeding operation.

Lamata said his two airplanes were contracted to conduct cloud seeding operations in Bacolod and Negros Occidental, and it was a success.

“We, at Unifed, worked hard to convince the administration that we needed cloud seeding despite the hesitancy of government agencies because we are in the think of planting canes now,” Lamata said.

“The farmers, especially the small planters who do not have irrigation systems in their fields, will greatly benefit from this,” he added.

The Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas allowed cloud seeding operations in Negros Occidental to mitigate the effects of the El Niño phenomenon on crops./JB, WDJ