Bacolod City (CNN Philippines) — The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 6 has allotted P187 million as mitigation fund for El Niño in Western Visayas, according to Roy Abaya, its acting regional director.
Abaya, who attended a consultative meeting for Negros Occidental City and municipal agriculturists in Bacolod City on Tuesday (September 1), said P94.5 million of the budget has been distributed, while the remaining P92.5 million will still be requested from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Iloilo province, which has the biggest agricultural area, gets the biggest chunk of the fund, followed by Negros Occidental, Abaya said.
He added, cloud seeding operations, seeds distribution, and crop insurance are among the mitigating measures included in the budget.
“The mitigation plan, including the additional fund, was already submitted to DA central office and will eventually be submitted to DBM for approval,” Abaya said.
Meanwhile, based on the records of the Department of Science and Technology in Negros Occidental, the Negros Island Region is one of the eight provinces projected to have below normal rainfall distribution.
Abaya, meanwhile, said that they have been preparing for the effects of El Niño since 2014.
