Drought destroys P68-M crops in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY -Some P68 million worth of crops in North Cotabato, majority of which are considered high-value, were destroyed by a long dry spell, data from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG) showed. Cotabato provincial agriculturist Engineer Eliseo Mangliwan said the damaged crops could no longer be recovered. It’s actually a total loss of our crops with no chance of recovery,” said Mangliwan. The damaged crops included rice, corn, and high-value crops such as banana, cacao, and coffee. The most affected towns, data showed, are Alamada and Banisilan, both upland areas. In Kidapawan City, the city agriculture office reported crop damage of about P7.02 million. Many of the rice fields damaged by drought have no water impounding or communal irrigation system, Mangliwan said. Of the crops, the most heavily damaged is the banana, data said. The drought, which hit the province since late January, has affected 4,539 farmers. Mangliwan said that his office has already requested a cloud seeding for North Cotabato to help other crops planted just last month to prevent from being damaged by the long dry spell. Also, to those farmers hit by drought, we already recommended that they’d be given assistance in the next cropping season through free seedling distribution,” he said.