The Philippine Rice Research Institute, the premier research and development arm of the Department of Agriculture, over the weekend, said it is now designing El Niño risk maps to mitigate the impact of the coming dry spell.
On the instruction of the Agriculture Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Leocadio Sebastian, PhilRice said since El Niño is a cyclical, recurring weather aberration, the maps would detail which areas would possibly be hit again, thereby determining the planting calendar that could help minimize the adverse effect of the dry spell.
PhilRice would map out all areas of the country that could be hit by the dry climate to guide local governments and regional field offices on the kind of interventions that would be needed in areas to be affected by El Niño.
PhilRice has been sending out to farm communities around the country its Be Water Smart magazine containing information on varieties and ways to optimize water use to mitigate the impact of El Niño.
The magazine also contains previous experiences of farmers, particularly on how they coped with calamities and adverse weather conditions, thereby enriching the knowledge of other farmers on what to expect and how to cope with El Niño.
In addition, it has information on seed varieties that are heat- or drought-tolerant and under what soil conditions they can be planted, including the experience of Vietnam in using climate-smart maps to address its drought problem.
PhilRice Deputy Director for Development Dr. Karen Barroga said the agency has also been disseminating satellite-based data on rice area, production, and yield to local government units and DA regional field offices so that they can be adequately guided on how to adjust their cropping calendars and on what interventions to give. These data were weather patterns obtained and analyzed by the PRISM– on the Philippine Rice Information System team – to LGUs and their extension workers and DA regional field officers (down to the municipalities) so they can adequately guide farmers on seed varieties to plant based on available water supply.
PRISM, a BAR (or Bureau of Agricultural Research)- funded project with IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) and is now managed by PhilRice, is the first rice monitoring system in Southeast Asia that uses satellite imagery and information and communication technology, crop modeling and smartphones. It has a network of focal persons nationwide who are tasked to validate satellite data and help disseminate these to policy- and decision-makers, who in turn transmit them to farmers either through extension workers or using call/text digital technology.
Through PRISM, the extent of standing crops and the different crop stages all over the country can also be known, she explained.
These are the data that inform us how to adjust the schedule of planting so that the crops would not be hit by typhoons, she said, citing the previous explanation of DA Undersecretary Sebastian. Historical data on PRISM can be analyzed in determining how and when to adjust the planting calendar.
The Be Water Smart issue of PhilRice magazine, she said, has put together and simplified information based on research and best practices to mitigate the effects of El Niño.
“As advised by Usec. Sebastian, we are trying to spread out to mainstream and social media information through this magazine and other science-based materials that we have at PhilRice so that we can help people find solutions rather than sink into inaction over El El Niño,” Barroga stressed.
An example, she said, is to suggest to farmers in rainfed areas that would be hit by El Niño to plant other crops and raise animals.