DA workers ordered to hasten preps for El Niño

MANILA, Philippines — Workers at the Department of Agriculture (DA) have been ordered to speed up preparations for the El Niño phenomenon, which has started affecting the country and may last until the early part of next year.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. urged his men to strengthen field coordination and data-driven planning aimed at mitigating the effects of the dry spell.

Tiu Laurel said the agency has more time to prepare today compared to previous El Niño episodes, and should take advantage of it to implement mitigating measures.

He directed concerned agency officials to fast-track the construction of irrigation and water impounding facilities as well as other climate adaptation projects to sustain the livelihood of farmers.

Tiu Laurel said a management network is being planned to integrate farm production, storage, logistics and weather information as well as market demand supported by real-time data.

Additional cold storage, blast freezers and logistics facilities will be set up to maintain freshness of farm produce and make distribution efficient, he said.

DA regional offices have been directed to identify each province’s strongest agricultural and fishery commodities, assess production capacity and track post-harvest losses to steer investments in storage, processing and cold chain facilities.