Dry season is here

Dry season is here and we will again face the looming food crisis where  people will experience the rising costs of agri products. This, in turn will create havoc and massive devastation resulting in less food production.

Worse, it will result in agri losses worth billions of pesos.

With the coming dry season, newspapers will again be replete with photos of dried out farm lands and, in some areas, dry river beds coupled with drier than normal condition due to lack of rainfall and warming of the sea.

This scenario, could be avoided if we had an efficient water management program. Mini water reservoir or water storage to catch and store rain water. This will provide irrigation water during the dry spell and prevent farmers’ agony.

Published reports show some parts of the Cordillera region where small water impounding dams mitigate the effects of drought on crops. While farmers in other regions were reeling from the effects of drought, Cordillera had minimal damage because of availability of water from water impounding projects at strategic portions of river system and small dams constructed with the help of government agencies. This ensures continuous supply of irrigation water during the dry spell. — GONZALO CATAN Jr., executive vice president, Green Charcoal Philippines Inc.