The Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) will continue to implement mitigating measures related to the completion of all ongoing water infrastructure projects intended to cushion the impacts of the dry spell before the end of April this year.
DA-CAR Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Officer Crisante Rosario explained that the department is currently identifying the vulnerable areas in the region that may feel the brunt of the weather phenomenon to intensify the appropriate measures to be implemented in the areas to be identified.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued Executive Order No. 53 which reactivating and reconstituting the Task Force El Niño.
Members of the Task Force include the Secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, and the National Economic and Development Authority.
The Task Force will be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND), and co-chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The Office of Civil Defense shall provide administrative and technical support to the Task Force in the performance of its functions.
Rosario added that among the intervention measures considered by the department are the Information Education Campaign (IEC) on climate change and El Niño, the adoption of climate-resilient agriculture practices such as the adjustment of the planting schedules, use of drought-tolerant seed varieties suitable in the vulnerable production areas, planting consideration for other crops which have minimal use of water, use of mulching, desilting, and repair and restoration of irrigation systems particularly those in the tail end production area of that might not be reached by the supply of water.
In June 2023, the Regional Inter-Agency Task Group (RIATG) on El Nino following the National Task Force identified five key sectors, particularly water supply, agriculture and fishery, electricity, health, and public safety, as the priority areas for measures to be implemented by the RIATG, to fortify communities in CAR against the effects of El Nino.
The November 9,2023 advisory of Pagasa Officer-In-Charge Nathaniel Servando included Kalinga and Apayao as the areas in the Cordillera region that will experience a dry spell, while dry conditions will be felt in the provinces of Abra, Benguet including Baguio City, Ifugao, and Mountain Province. By JTLlanes
