The Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE) is urgently requesting the Department of Agriculture to conduct cloud seeding in Negros Occidental in order to promptly and adequately address the massive and extensive drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon.
The Negros ACE, in a resolution, said “this abnormal phenomenon has severely depleted our water resource, has devastated in huge measure our agricultural communities due to substantial damage and losses in their crops, has brought unmitigated distresses to our farmers and their families and has disastrously affected the economy of the province resulting in the alarming increase of number of cities and municipalities in Negros Occidental which have been placed in a state of calamity”.
The urgency of the situation demands immediate action to prevent further deterioration of agriculture, safeguard the livelihood of farmers, and ensure food security for the people of Negros Occidental, a copy of the resolution furnished by Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, Negros ACE president, on Monday, May 20, said.
The drought damage to crops and animals in Negros Occidental is now P535.6 million.
The cities of Kabankalan and San Carlos, and the municipalities of San Enrique and Valladolid have declared states of calamity.*