By Leah Agonoy/PNA
PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — Extreme drought has brought damages to an estimated 143 hectares or 90 percent of the rice fields in Barangay Tawagan Sur here.
Dennis Peralta, a farmer of Barangay Tawagan Sur, on Thursday said his five-hectare land was among the estimated 143 hectares now filled with dried grass, that even his two cattle died after experiencing extreme heat.
It only rained once in the area last January and could not suffice the needed water for another crop planting, he said.
Peralta disclosed that they were also challenged by insufficient water their irrigation could provide, and decided not to gamble into planting rice after their last harvest in October last year.
He said their family attempted to plant watermelon thinking that the crop could survive even on dry season but later failed as there was no water available.
“Even the simple lemongrass could not survive despite being known to grow in warmer areas,” Peralta said.
City Agriculturist Annie Tenorio told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that her team is on the process of consolidating all reports from the 39 agricultural barangays in this city, which will be presented in a meeting with the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) on Friday.
Alvin Rex Lucero, Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) focal person of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, quoted the Mindanao office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Regional Services Division announcement of a weak El Niño presence in the tropical Pacific that will likely continue until June this year.
Both Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur were seen to experience drought while Zamboanga del Norte is projected to experience dry spell.
According to PAGASA, a drought is defined as three consecutive months of way below normal (60 percent lower than average) or five consecutive months of below normal (21 to 60 percent lower than average) rainfall.
Dry spell, on the other hand, is three consecutive months of below normal (21 to 60 percent lower than average) rainfall or two consecutive months of way below normal (more than 60 percent lower than average) rainfall.
