Arroyo reactivates El Niño Task Force

The government has reactivated the El Niño Task Force in preparation for the onslaught of the abnormal dry season that is expected to cause billions of pesos in agricultural losses. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, during Tuesday's meeting of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Cabinet in Malacañang, tapped the Department of Agriculture (DA) as the head agency in the task force. The task force was first formed in 2001 and was also led by the DA, according to Conrado Limcauco, director general of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and officer-in-charge of the Office of the Press Secretary. Limcauco said the task force held its first meeting Tuesday at the State Dining Room in Malacañang to “come up with a comprehensive and integrated action plan to address the coming El Nino phenomenon." DA Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla said the country is expecting a moderate El Niño this year, which could result in a P10-billion damage to crops and fisheries unless interventions are adopted. Sectors that will be affected are rice, corn, fisheries and vegetable. A severe or worst case scenario, and without intervention, could lead to a damage worth P20 billion - P12 billion of which on rice, Fondevilla said. Of the 2.004 million hectares of rice to be planted this year, about 543,844.8 hectares are expected to experience water shortage while in the 1.114,395 hectares of corn plantations, 273,411.6 hectares would be affected by the El Niño. The El Niño also threatens around 16,992 hectares of fisheries 3.804 million metric tons of vegetables. Fondevilla said among the measures that the DA initially recommended to mitigate the effect are the cloud seeding in the corn and rice areas up to March; adoption of water management policies especially in the dams in the control of the National Irrigation Authority like the Upris and Magat dams; the distribution of shallow tube wells for the farmers. He said the DA would also be distributing microbial fertilizers, organic fertilizers for rice and corn farmers, and vegetable seeds for vegetable farmers. - KBK, GMANews.TV