By Erwin Nicavera/ PNA
BACOLOD CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA)-6 has allocated a funding of PHP2.5 million for the cloud-seeding operation in Negros Occidental scheduled next month.
Dina Genzola, senior agriculturist of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), said on Tuesday the team from the DA and its attached agency, the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, have completed the assessment.
Genzola said the next step is the procurement process, which includes the bidding, which could last for a month.
Cloud seeding, which is seen to allay the adverse effects of the prevailing dry spell associated with El Niño, costs PHP40,000 per hour flight, she added.
Based on OPA records, damage to the agriculture sector of Negros Occidental due to the dry spell and pests is pegged at PHP60.61 million.
Worst-hit are the towns of Murcia and Binalbagan, which posted PHP8.29 million and PHP7.13 million in rice production losses, respectively.
Genzola said that with the conduct of cloud seeding, the OPA hopes the rice production output of the province will not suffer much.
She urged farmers enrolled under the Negros First Universal Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP) to immediately file notices of loss.
Under the NFUCIP, farmers may avail themselves of the PHP17,000 claim per hectare of damaged farms. Enrollment premium per cropping season is PHP840. The amount is shouldered by the provincial government as a loan.
Genzola said affected farmers should fill out forms from their respective City and Municipal Agriculture Offices then submit it to the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC).
“Adjusters will then assess the extent of the damage,” she said.
In late March, the OPA received notices of loss from more than 400 rice farmers in the province whose farms have been affected by the dry spell.
