Isabela reels from drought;farmers losing millions

By Charlie Lagasca 

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – While Tropical Storm Gorio may have brought floods to some areas last week, its rains could have been a blessing for thousands of drought-hit farmlands in Isabela.

This, as the country’s leading agricultural province continues to experience lack of enough rainfall as Gorio failed to bring the much needed volume of water to irrigate some 3,000 hectares of cornfields which have been reeling from the dry spell.

As of last week, Isabela, the country’s leading corn-producing province, had lost at least P33 million worth of corn crops as a result of the prolonged dry spell.

In its latest crop damage assessment report, the provincial agriculture office said the drought has affected 2,815 hectares of cornfields. Crops in 283 hectares have been lost totally.

Provincial agriculturist Danilo Tumamao said most of the affected corn plants were in their reproductive and vegetative stages.

Although rains started to pour in most of Isabela’s southern areas, the northern part covering Ilagan City and the towns of Cabagan, San Mariano, Tumauini, Santo Tomas, Quirino and San Pablo still lacks water for irrigation.     

Tumamao, however, allayed fears of heavy agricultural losses as the affected cornfields, he said, represent only 2.7 percent of the 135,770 hectares of farmlands presently planted with corn.

“We are hopeful that more rains would eventually fall on our drought-affected farmlands,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the water level at the Magat Dam along the Isabela-Ifugao border remains at normal level amid the intermittent rains brought by Gorio, the National Irrigation Administration said.

As of press time, NIA engineer SaturninoTenedor, the dam’s flood forecasting and warning section chief, said Magat’s water elevation remains within the normal level at 178.04 meters. 

The three-decade-old dam provides irrigation to at least 80,000 hectares of farmlands in Isabela and parts of Quirino and Cagayan. It also generates 380 megawatts of power, making it the second biggest power provider among hydro-power dams in Luzon.