Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, April 17, that cloud seeding is an option the provincial government may take to mitigate the effects of the dry spell on Negros Occidental’s crops, especially its sugarcane.
“That is always an option, when there is a long drought we always request for cloud seeding,” he said.
Lacson said maybe the timing is also good now because there are still rain clouds.
He noted that in the past cloud seeding was undertaken with the help of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).
Lacson said Negros Occidental is 80 percent self-sufficient in rice.
Any crop will be affected by a long dry spell, he said.
What is important is water in irrigation systems are not put to waste, he said.
“We have to make sure that the canals are in good condition so the flow of water is not affected,” he said.
Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo (Neg. Occ., 5th District) on Sunday asked the DA, SRA and the provincial government to prep-up for eventual cloud seeding amidst the extreme heat.
“We are in the middle of planting and cultivation, particularly in the sugar industry, and getting this extreme heat and probably a dry spell in the coming weeks will have a drastic effect on our agriculture,” Yulo said.*