‘Dry spell’ alarming

Prompting Oro dad to call for the declaration of a state of calamity

CITY Councilor Jay Pascual urged the City Council to declare a “state of calamity” after learning the damage to crops and livestock in hinterland barangays of Cagayan de Oro amid the El Niño phenomenon.

Pascual said there are no more rain, and even sources of water are depleting.

Declaring the state of calamity, Pascual said, will enable barangays to utilize their calamity fund and put in place further interventions.

“Maayo nalang ipalit og rice para ma-distribute sa katawhan. We also hope that the City Social Welfare and Development and the City Agriculture will distribute aid especially seedlings and water,” he said.

As of March 19, the City Agriculture Office noted that damages are monitored in 200 hectares land area of barangay Balubal, 103 hectares in barangay Besigan, 39.75 hectares in barangay Bugo, 1 hectare in Canitoan, 102 hectares in Tablon. A total of 445.75 hectares of land are damaged by the extreme heat.

Crops affected include corn, squash, banana,

cassava, coffee, and mongo. Grasses for the livestock’s sustainance are also drying up.

To date, initial interventions are already in place for the affected areas, which include spring development in Besigan, Bayanga and Tuburan. Some 92 sets of small irrigation pumps and accessories are already distributed to barangays, farmers associations, and schools.

Already, six units of drip irrigation system are installed for clustered community vegetable producers.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin Uy said a declaration of a state of calamity has to undergo a certain process.

“There are requisites, endorsement coming from barangay that hit calamity, and endorsement from DILG and CDRRMD. Then we can declare. But sad to say at this moment, no barangays have declared the calamity state yet,” Uy said.