Weather stations seek to remove guesswork in farm planning

SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ—Residents in this farming city will no longer depend on guesswork by looking at the skies to plan their activities for the day.

Soon, they will be guided by science, with the aid of an Automatic Weather Station (AWS) that will be put up under a joint agreement of the local government, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and the nongovernment organization Rice Watch and Action Network (R1).

An AWS will be installed in Barangay Franza, which is being developed as this city’s local climate information center and as a site for organic fertilizer production.

“The AWS will provide weather forecast for succeeding days. [The weather data] will be very helpful [so people can plan] their outdoor activities. This is most especially helpful to local farmers due to the information’s impact on their farm activities and crops,” said Jerry Rigos, city agricultural officer.

The weather bureau Pagasa will train the city’s meteorologist who will monitor information and come up with farm weather advisory that will be distributed to farmers and residents.

Database

The AWS will provide the city government information that will help build a database on climate, disaster thresholds and weather forecast based on trends and local experiences.

“Accurate weather information is important to help farmers adapt to extreme weather events and alert them of possible risks involved. The challenge is to translate this to concrete [information that would] impact on their farms and crops and disseminate them,” Joseph Basconcillo, Pagasa weather specialist, told farmers in a recent forum here.

Basconcillo said Nueva Ecija, the country’s leading rice producer, is experiencing the impact of a weak El Niño phenomenon which may last until the middle of this year. He said lesser than normal rainfall is expected from June to August this year in the province.

Training

R1, local officials said, will provide training for selected farmers in five villages here. This will involve crop planning, seeds selection, organic fertilizer and pesticide production, system of rice intensification as the recommended farming system, and diversified livelihood projects.

Mayor Nestor Alvarez has set aside P3.2 million from the city’s funds and from funds of the National Anti-Poverty Commission for the establishment of the AWS and a local climate information center, the training of the meteorologist and other personnel of the local weather station,  farmers’ training and the production of organic fertilizer. Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon