GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Around PHP12 million worth of agricultural crops have been damaged in South Cotabato province due to the effects of the prevailing dry spell triggered by the El Niño phenomenon.
Justina Navarrete, head of the South Cotabato-Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG), said Monday the recorded damage mainly came from palay and corn areas in 10 barangays (villages) of Surallah town, which was among the areas so far hit hardest by the dry weather.
Navarrete said over 300 hectares of farmlands were affected by the dry spell in Barangays Moloy, Talahik, Tubiala, Veterans, Canahay, Centrala, Colongulo, Lambontong, Lamsugod, and Buenavista.
She said majority of the damaged crops were corn, which is highly vulnerable to dry weather, and palay in rain-fed areas.
“There were corn farmers who proceeded with their third cropping despite warnings of the coming dry spell,” she said in a radio interview.
Aside from Surallah town, she said other areas have also been affected by the calamity but local officials have yet to submit their validated reports.
Among the areas that earlier reported initial effects of the El Niño were the municipalities of Tampakan, Tantangan, and Sto. Nino.
Citing their monitoring, Navarrete said there were no water resources that dried up as a result of the dry spell.
For the rain-fed and unirrigated farm areas, she said they advised farmers to shift to planting vegetables and cash crops.
Farmers in unirrigated palay areas started planting watermelon and mongo as early as January as an alternative crop, she said.
As part of their interventions, Navarrete said they distributed free seeds of open-pollinated vegetables to the affected farmers.
“We’re encouraging them to plant even in their own backyard to ensure that they will have available food in case the dry spell prolongs,” she said.
The official added that the provincial government is also preparing various forms of assistance to the affected farmers, such as the provision of emergency employment and agricultural inputs.
