DA to use 'low-water strategies' for rice planting amid El Niño

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said it is implementing low-water use strategies to continue planting of rice amidst the threat of the El Niño phenomenon.

In a news release, the DA said the move is in compliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to the Agriculture Department to assist farmers amid the El Niño.

The implementation of low-water-use technology is underway to mitigate the weather phenomenon's impact on farmers, according to Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Operations U-Nichols Manalo.

The DA said Manalo identified the farming strategies as "Alternate Wetting and Drying" which uses less water for farming, and "Quick Turn Around" or QTA which allows immediate rice replanting right after harvest during the Task Force El Niño meeting on February 12.

"AWD is a water-saving technology that rice farmers can apply to reduce their water use in irrigated fields," said Manalo.

"On the other hand, QTA is a strategy wherein all rice farms after harvest shall quickly replant immediately without waiting for the months of the succeeding planting season to begin," added the DA official.

The DA said it has reached out to more than a million farmers for implementation of the water-saving technology in nearly 15,000 hectares of rice areas. 

Farmers have already begun replanting in more than 5,500 hectares of rice areas, according to the DA official.

The agency aims to implement the quick-turn-around strategy in more than 26,000 hectares.

The DA said it immediately implemented these measures in compliance with President Marcos’ Executive Order No. 53 which directs the government to streamline, reactivate, and reconstitute the old El Niño task forces under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019).

Signed on January 19, 2024, President Marcos’ executive order directs the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide “systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions” to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects.

Earlier this week, state weather bureau PAGASA said that the number of provinces affected by the El Niño phenomenon decreased to 41 from 50.

Despite the reduction, the task force said preparations still need to be enforced due to strong and mature El Niño that may continue until May. 

It said that drought is still being experienced in Apayao, Benguet, Cagayan, Cavite, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Kalinga, La Union, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, and Pangasinan. —Ted Cordero/ VAL, GMA Integrated News