P4-M alloted for North Cotabato cloud seeding operation
AGRICULTURE • 01:46 AM Thu Sep 10, 2015
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DXND RADYO BIDA
An agricultural worker prepare salts to be loaded to an aircraft for cloudseeding operations in Bohol province. (courtesy of agriculture.bohol.gov.ph)
KIDAPAWAN CITY -Some P4 million would be allotted for cloud seeding in areas in North Cotabato expected to be hit by severe drought. Cotabato 1stdistrict Board Member Loreto Cabaya, chair of the Committee on Agriculture at theSangguniang Panlalawigan, said of the amount, at least P3.5 million would come from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture in Region 12 and the rest from the Cotabato provincial government. Cabaya said the Sanggunian is set to approve a resolution which would give Cotabato Governor Lala Mendoza authority to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the BSWM of DA-12 for the cloud seeding operations. Based on the MOA, the provincial government takes charge of buying the substances or ‘seeds’ that would be dispersed into the air, which will serve as cloud condensation that brings artificial rainfall. The ‘seeds’ can be delivered by plane or simply by spraying from the ground. Cabaya said the during droughts, water is scarce but it is possible to make artificial rain to provide water. He added that aside from this weather modification, the provincial government, using a portion of its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) fund, will stockpile corn, which they would later distribute to farmers, fisherfolks, and other sectors, affected by drought. After the MOA signing, a copy of the document would be given to the DA-12 so they could set schedules for the cloud seeding operations. North Cotabato, data from the Bureau of Agriculture Statistics showed, is the eight largest rice-producing province in the country. Across Soccsksargen or Region 12, the province prides itself as the region’s top palay producer, and second in corn production. In 2011, the province produced 481 thousand metric tons of palay, which accounted for 38.7 percent of the total produce of the region. To prepare for the worst, the provincial government is now preparing contingency measures to cushion the impact of El Nino,” said Cabaya.