|
Archives
February 1-28, 2003
Coping with El Niño
the Isabela way
by Likha C. Cuevas
 With
proper strategies and good local governance, provinces
in the Philippines can cope with natural calamities
like El Niño.
This was proven by Mr. Danilo B. Tumamao,
provincial agriculturist of Isabela province, as he
presented his paper, "El Niño Impacts and
Coping Strategies: Isabela Experience," during
the In-house Seminar on El Niño: Impacts and
Coping Strategies on February 7, 2003. The United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
- Course Grains Pulses Roots and Tubers (UNSECAP - CGPRT)
Centre sponsored this seminar held at the Bureau of
Soils and Water Management (BSWM) Conference Hall, Diliman,
Quezon City. Other organizers of this event were BSWM
and the Farming Systems and Soil Resources Institute
(FSSRI) of the College of Agriculture, UP Los Baños
(UPLB).
Twenty-nine percent of the total agricultural
land area of the province of Isabela is devoted to rice,
yellow corn, and other crops. In 1999, Isabela ranked
first among the 40 rice and corn-producing provinces
in the country. According to Tumamao, from October 1982
to March 1983, a significant drought in Isabela was
recorded. It extended from April to September 1983 with
severe damage to crops. A severe drought hit the province
in the last quarter of 1989 to the first quarter of
1990. During the wet season of 1996, a dry spell hit
Isabela that damaged the corn farms at a value of P647.30
million in losses. Recently, a moderate drought was
experienced during the wet season of 2002.
Before the province was declared under
a state of calamity in July 2002, a series of consultation
and planning were already held. According to Tumamao,
the affected areas and measures necessary to mitigate
the negative effects of the extended dry spell were
discussed. The Local Disaster Coordinating Councils
(LDCCs) were responsible for this systematic response
to the impending calamity. Some of the strategies employed
were:
Strategy of convergence. The region
was reputed, said Tumamao, to have a well-organized
disaster workforce. The Regional Management Committee
(RMC) composed of various groups met regularly to assess
and describe the situation, formulate measures/strategies,
review implementation, and monitor the developments
The LDCCs assessed the situation that resulted to commitment
setting and role delineation.
Strategy of counterparting. Stakeholders
in Isabela provided seed subsidy and other rehabilitation
measures. Some of these seeds were assorted vegetable
seeds and mungbean seeds. The Department of Agriculture
(DA), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and
other agencies also contributed seeds, fertilizer subsidy,
and irrigation scheduling. The local government unit
(LGU) also purchased other seeds.
Strategy of providing policy support.
The province and municipalities initiated and approved
resolutions that authorized the use of calamity funds
(5% of the calamity fund for prevention/mitigation and
rehabilitation) to procure materials and other inputs.
These were the SP Resolution declaring Isabela under
the state of calamity and the Rice Loan Memorandum of
Agreement between San Mateo town and National Food Authority
(NFA) Isabela.
Stratification and offsetting strategy.
The vulnerable and/or affected areas were properly identified
and this enabled the offsetting of impending losses
from vulnerable areas to lessen the damage by El Niño.
The strategy also provided the farmers alternative crops
and pressurized irrigation pumps in affected areas.
Continuous monitoring and feedback.
With the local government, the execution and monitoring
becomes systematic and unnecessary delays are minimized
and the integrity of the instituted actions was sustained.
The measures in mitigating the effects
of El Niño were also beset by problems. Some
of these were: limited funds to address the needs of
sectors affected by the calamity; rehab measures were
short-term, deficiency of database particularly on vulnerable
crops that affected the prioritization and focus of
rehab and development measures; over dependence of LGUs
to national agencies for rehab programs; and, the absence
of comprehensive rehab programs with long term development
action plans, especially the 4th to 6th class municipalities.
For effective programs on El Niño,
Tumamao recommended that there should be a review of
vulnerable areas by municipality and mapping of the
degree hazards, like drought levels. There should also
be seed buffering and the LGU must stock pile seeds
of short maturity like mungbean and other legumes ready
for rehabilitation. There should also be equipment and
facilities on standby for immediate response to affected
areas. The comprehensive rehabilitation plans (convergence,
counterparting, etc.) should be institutionalized. There
should be accountability, that the municipal agriculture
offices must know the over-all situation and be persistent
in pursuing the needed rehabilitation actions in their
respective areas. 
February 1-28 2003 Articles: ::
BAR director sets down 7-point agenda
::
BAR strategically charts plan for 2003
::
BAR directorship is now Medrano's responsibility
::
State of the Art: Agricultural Commodity Research
::
Luzon Zonal Research Center readies for action
::
Medrano chairs CABI’s executive council
::
Seeds of change: lessons learned
::
Coping with El Niño the Isabela way
::
Cracking the coconut oil myth
::: More February 2003 articles :::
|
