THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) XI, through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) in Davao del Sur, announced that more than 61,000 hectares of agri-crops experienced extreme drought. During the Agribiz forum on April 2, Jenefer Alviola, OPAg field operations head, said among the agri-crops damaged were rice (26,000 ha.), corn (15,000 ha.), banana (11,000 ha.), mango (9,000 ha.), and some vegetable in lowland areas.
“Last February, we experienced rain, and that is why some of our farmers, tried to plant corn seeds, however, wala nay ensakto nga gidaghanon ang ulan, and those corn planted during that time was considered totally damaged,” Alviola said.
Alviola said more than a hundred hectares of crops in Matanao were already affected by El Niño based on their ongoing assessment.
However, she noted that upland vegetable farmers gained minimal production of crops with the help of their irrigation system.
“We are still waiting for the three municipalities to declare a state of calamity before we utilize the funds allocated for the El Niño,” she added.
She said they continuously implement their programs and projects such as capacity building and training in coordination with their Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to assess further the damage caused by the phenomenon.
Ongoing procurement for rice, corn, and vegetable seeds amounting to almost P6 million, fertilizers for farmers, procurement of water pumps with complete accessories, and provision of food packs for families, are already prepared by the Davao del Sur OPAg.
