Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Sunday, March 10, that no crop will be spared by the El Niño drought, especially if the land is totally rain fed.
“Even if you have underground irrigation, you would think twice on using your deep wells considering the cost of the fuel,” he said in reaction to the El Niño damage to sugar farms.
Lacson said he has not received an update from the Department of Agriculture (DA) on its cloudseeding operations in Negros Occidental yet.
He believes the Sugar Regulatory Administration is also coordinating with the DA on cloudseeding, Lacson said.
Lacson said he leaves it to the drought-hit local government units to decide whether it is necessary to declare a state of calamity in their areas.*