LAOAG CITY?ILOCOS NORTE Gov. Michael Keon has approved the use of the province?s calamity funds to help farmers whose rice lands have dried up due to the dry spell.

Records from the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) as of March 12 showed that the province lost some P7.2-million worth of rice and corn.

The losses were recorded in rice and corn farms in the towns of Dingras, Bacarra and Pinili, and Laoag City.

Norma Lagmay, provincial agriculturist, said figures on crop losses are expected to increase once the PAO completes its validation of damage reports in other towns.

Dingras, considered as Ilocos Norte?s rice granary, has been declared under a state of calamity due to rising agricultural losses, amounting to P2.3 million in rice and corn.

Keon said at least P12 million from the province?s calamity fund is on standby to buy farm implements to help rehabilitate parched farmlands.

?The amount is equivalent to 50 percent of [the province?s] calamity fund. It is there for immediate dispatch,? he said.

He announced the release of the funds during the interagency meeting of the government?s El Niño task force on Tuesday.

Keon said the fund assistance could be used in buying water pumps, fertilizers and seedlings.

During the forum, Department of Agriculture (DA) officials asked farmers? representatives to identify areas vulnerable to drought.

Amador Sadumiano, director of the DA regional field unit, however, asked farmers to report only their actual losses. Cristina Arzadon, Inquirer Northern Luzon