ILAGAN, ISABELA?After surveying his two-hectare corn farm in Barangay Lullutan here on Thursday, Edgardo Bayucan, 45, gave up any hope of saving his crops from the prolonged drought brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

?I surrender. There is no remedy, my crops have been destroyed by the drought,? he told the Inquirer.

Bayucan and at least 30,000 other corn and palay farmers in Isabela have been hurt most by the drought, records from the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the province showed.

The DA has started distributing water pumps to draw out underground water to help the farmers.

The Isabela provincial board this week approved a recommendation to place the province under a state of calamity after the DA reported drought-related losses of at least P1.61 billion in farms in 36 towns and a city.

Vice Gov. Ramon Reyes said the board made the move to allow Gov. Grace Padaca to use 5 percent of the calamity fund, amounting to P60 million, to help farmers whose farms were hit by the drought.

In a hectare, Bayucan said he had spent P20,000 for seeds, fertilizer, pesticide, fees for planters and weeders, and fuel.

He said he would not use diesel engine pumps or shallow wells as these would be costly.

?We might end up poorer during harvest time,? he said.

Provincial agriculture officials, however, are hopeful that the drought?s impact can be reduced by the use of shallow tube wells.

Provincial agriculturist Danilo Tumamao said at least 60 water pumps have been distributed to local farmers and the DA is preparing to distribute more units soon.

Officials said no rain has fallen in the province for almost a month.

Tumamao said cloud-seeding operations done in the province in the past two weeks were insufficient to ease the effects of the drought.

Michael Hosillos, SN-Aboitiz external relations chief, has urged farmers and residents in the province to conserve water because of the low water level at the Magat Dam, the major power and irrigation water provider in Cagayan Valley.

?We have limited power generation because of very low water level. This is a cause for concern,? he said.

In Cagayan, Gov. Alvaro Antonio said the small water impounding dams in Alcala and Enrile towns have helped some farmers cope with the drought.

Antonio said the provincial government is helping farmers build at least 100 water impounding dams in different towns. Villamor Visaya Jr. with a report from Estanislao Caldez, Inquirer Northern Luzon