Early planting, drought-resistant crops could blunt El Niño — PCAFI

By Marron Joshua F. Mendoza

PREPAREDNESS for El Niño will never be sufficient, given how hard it is to predict the strength of the weather event this year, though the worst of its impact could be blunted by early planting and focusing on drought-resistant crops, the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) said.

PCAFI President Danilo V. Fausto told BusinessWorld that the impact of El Niño that he expects dams to be short of water, with the current energy crisis also limiting farmers’ ability to turn to irrigation pumps.

Mr. Fausto said farmers can resort to planting early if the government weather service, known as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), forecasts a shortage of water in the country by September.

“If PAGASA says that we will have no water by July or August, then we are in big trouble,” Mr. Fausto said.

Mr. Fausto also recommended a shift to drought-resilient rice varieties instead of the inbred varieties backed by the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

He noted that the cost of producing palay (unmilled rice) has increased to P70,000 to P80,000 per hectare due to the Iran war, as against P50,000 to P60,000 previously.