Cagayan Valley farmers urged to plant drought- resistant crops

By Charlie Lagasca

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – In anticipation of the El Niño phenomenon, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has advised farmers in the region to plant drought-resistant crops as temporary alternative for rice and corn during the dry spell.

Dr. Orlando Lorenzana, DA technical director for Cagayan Valley, said planting drought-resistant crops for the rest of the year is one of the measures they are promoting to cushion the effects of the looming prolonged dry spell.

This early, the DA said, thousands of farmers in the region have complained of inadequate irrigation amid the lack of rainfall, even as El Niño has yet to hit the country.

Weather forecasters see El Niño starting to hit the country, especially Luzon provinces, in September, saying it could last until July 2015.

“We are encouraging our farmers to plant drought-resistant crops such as cassava, purple yam and other root crops as these do not need large volume of water to survive,” Lorenzana said.

The DA has initially distributed 100,000 cassava cuttings to 100 farmers in Cagayan. Assorted vegetable seeds are also being distributed to farmers as additional food sources during the El Niño months.

Meanwhile, engineer Mariano Dancel, operations manager of the National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System, called on farmers in Isabela to use their irrigation supply wisely since the Magat Dam has limited water reserves.

Since last month, thousands of farmers in Isabela, the country’s second leading rice-producing province, are complaining of scarce irrigation. 

This developed as the Magat Dam, major source of irrigation for Isabela farmers, is nearing its critical level, prompting NIA officials to limit irrigation to some of the dam’s service areas.  

As of yesterday, the dam’s water level further dropped to 161.6 meters or less than two meters above the critical level of 160 meters.

Besides generating at least 380 megawatts of power for the Luzon grid, the second biggest among hydro-dams in Luzon, the Magat Dam irrigates at least 80,000 hectares of farmlands in Isabela and parts of Cagayan and Quirino.