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BACOLOD CITY — A lawmaker from Negros Occidental is asking government offices to conduct cloud seeding to mitigate the effects of the warm and dry season that affected the province’s crops, including its sugarcane.
Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo of Negros Occidental’s fifth district turned to the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), and the provincial government for help to save the plants.
“We are in the middle of planting and cultivation, particularly in the sugar industry. Getting this extreme heat will have a drastic effect on agriculture,” Yulo said in an interview on Sunday, April 16.
The congressman said concerned agencies should “come up with a plan and start preparing for cloud seeding to ensure that our industry will not suffer from this extreme weather.
Negros Occidental is the Philippines’ major sugar producer which contributes almost half of the country’s total production, with nine sugar factories, seven of which have refineries, according to the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Center, a group mandated to provide investor servicing and facilitating to cater to the needs of local and foreign investors.
Yulo said efforts are being done to ensure the sugar industry increases its productivity.
“We need to make sure that these efforts will not go to waste because we are not prepared to combat the effects of a dry spell which is totally beyond the control of our farmers,” he said.
Although intense heat has been felt, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said El Niño would likely develop starting July and may persist until 2024.
Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation, said the dry spell would definitely cause a drop in sugar production.
“Government should help download solar-powered irrigation pumps to help the farmers irrigate the sugar fields,” he said.
Enrique Rojas, president of the National Federation of Sugarcane Planters, said the dry season poses a challenge to planters and millers.
“They should work together to ensure that the sugarcane is transported and milled as soon as possible after they are harvested to minimize the loss of sugarcane juice due to evaporation caused by the dry weather,” he said.
Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama Jr., president of the Confederation of Sugar Producers’ Associations, said irrigated farms would have better production. However, for most areas where agrarian reform beneficiaries are located, production would definitely go down, he said.
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