Cotabato town prepares for El Niño by planting drought-tolerant crops
KIDAPAWAN CITY — The municipal government of Antipas in Cotabato province has started getting ready to mitigate the El Niño weather phenomenon by planting drought-resistant crops and identifying prime water sources that could be tapped in their areas during a prolonged dry spell.
Antipas Mayor Cristobal Cadungon said the town’s 29 villages had submitted their contingency plans to cushion the effect of El Niño, following the state weather bureau’s warning that the phenomenon marked by the abnormal warming in the Pacific Ocean would officially develop in July and would probably persist until the first quarter of 2024.
The mayor said town officials were particularly concerned about where to source the staple food and water in their areas in case the long dry spell would affect harvest and result in shortage of food supply.
He said village officials immediately heeded the local government’s proposal to establish a common area in their respective villages to plant crops that are resilient to drought and intense temperature.
So far, the municipal agriculture office has been distributing camote (sweet potato) and cassava (“kamoteng kahoy”) seedlings to be planted in the common area of the barangays to ensure that when other crops fail, people will still have food to eat.
Share water, or else . . .
He also urged people to make use of all the vacant lots they had to plant resilient crops to ensure there would be enough food on the table.
The mayor also ordered all barangay chairs to identify water sources, including those owned by private individuals, in their area to ensure that sufficient supply of potable drinking water would still be available if the projected dry spell would lengthen.
“We have plenty of springs in our villages. We will protect it to cushion the effect of the dry spell, especially as water would be very vital during these times,” Cadungon said.
He said the local government would conduct a dialogue with individuals or entities with privately owned water sources in the community and formally come up with a memorandum of agreement that would allow the local government to tap into their water sources when existing water supply would be exhausted.
Cadungon also warned of possible sanctions against those reluctant to share their privately owned water sources.
“Even if [these wells or springs are] private, the government has the right to use these when it concerns the welfare of the community,” Cadungon said.
He said that far-flung villages usually depend on spring water for drinking while those in the upland villages depend on submersible water pumps to draw water.
Cadungon, however, assured residents there would be enough water for all, adding the municipality had allocated P2 million for the purchase of a water tanker for water rationing in upland villages.
