One big fight against droughts

The news gives us almost daily pictures of the devastating misery brought about by droughts in growing portions of agricultural lands in many parts of the country. It’s alarming how this affects a significant number of our farmers.

More importantly, with the worsening heat the Philippines and the rest of the world is experiencing, it tells us that our farmland and fisheries production is being imperiled, and therefore threatening our ability to produce our own food supplies in the coming years.

Last month, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US, the global temperature record was once again broken, marking the hottest March in modern history. It was also the 11th consecutive month the global temperature record was breached.

The data so far collected over the past years indicates what many environmental scientists fear is happening: that the pace of global warming is accelerating faster.

The NOAA cites several nations and cities, from the south to the north, that are experiencing higher levels of heat. Of course, we need not go further: Filipinos have been suffering this temperature change this summer, and harsher typhoons and rains in the past seasons.

While worsening storms that bring devastation to farmlands and fish pens may be difficult to actually prevent, we can do something to protect the agricultural lands of hundreds of thousands of farmers that have been appraised as vulnerable to and currently affected by the droughts.

Useless and slow responses

Recently, farmers in Mindanao and Luzon asked the government to discontinue cloud seeding operations because it is not working. Given the extent of the droughts, they remarked that the sporadic rains produced by cloud seeding barely brought relief to the land.

Instead, they are asking the government to provide more water pumps that could either siphon water to their fields from nearby creeks or streams or from wells. The pumps would also help provide water for farm animals suffering from the water shortage.

Local government units in the affected areas, however, have said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is plagued by funding problems, which in turn have caused delays in the release of money to procure and distribute the pumps.

A more recent announcement by the DA that it was releasing more than 300 units of pump and engine sets, nine units of diversion dams, more than 1,000 units of pump irrigation for open source, and four units of drilling rigs was also met with criticism. These, farmers said, were needed last year before the drought had wasted their land.

There were also comments that distributing drought-resistant rice, corn and vegetable seeds at this time was no longer relevant because affected lands are not receptive anymore to planting. The same is true with the release of fertilizers.

Preparing for the next cycle

The world is undergoing one of the worst El Niño spells in recent years, and while scientists are saying that this year would be the tail-end of a cycle, one that usually lasts from five to seven years, the next one could be worse because of global warming’s accelerated pace.

The country should seize this opportunity to bolster its readiness for the next El Niño. This should be a legacy statement by the next administration, which would save the lives of many farmers, as well as bolster the country’s food selfsufficiency drive well into the next decade.

It all starts with a decisive program where the goal would be to ensure the survival of our farmers and the preservation of the nation’s food production capability.

This is the time when the country should resolutely pursue a truly relevant agricultural program, because not doing so could fuel a local food supply crisis, and could be very costly for the nation.

Currently, other countries are putting restrictions on their exportation of agricultural products in anticipation of tight food supplies resulting from the prolonged drought, and the expected difficult La Niña cycle starting later this year.

On our national government level, this would mean putting in more money now to improve and expand irrigation systems, as well as investing in the construction of big dams and water reservoirs for irrigation and drinking water supply.

If funding is a problem, government could work on an equitable mechanism that would allow partnerships with the private sector. Given the risks that the nation faces, a workable arrangement should be struck to keep the country well supplied with water.

Empowering LGUs

Just like having the right kind of boats in preparation for floods, LGUs in vulnerable areas should make sure their farming constituents are prepared for future droughts not only with the proper kind of pumps and seeds, but also with other drought-coping mechanisms.

Techniques like damming rainwater, drip irrigation, and underwater harvesting are some irrigation techniques our farmers should become more familiar with in the coming years to prevent failure of planting and harvesting.

Like health delivery, LGUs should develop their own agriculture roadmaps to protect their farming and fishing constituents. It has been demonstrated time and again that the national government has basic flaws, such as irrelevance and being painfully slow, in responding to crisis.

Empowered LGUs have proven to be better at mobilizing appropriate support or partnering with the private sector for projects that will directly impact on the concerns of their constituents.

There are many ways of overcoming the threat of drought that will allow our farmers and fishermen to survive without needing massive capital investment.

In pilot communities around the world that have found themselves in worse situations, small farmers and fishermen have been able to demonstrate readiness to ward off the ill-effects of droughts, even if only to ensure their own basic food needs.

Let us put our heads together and prepare for one big fight for our agricultural sector and for the nation’s food security.

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