According to Bohol gears up for El Niño | Inquirer News, the Bohol province has made measures to get ready for the impending dry spell brought on by the El Niño weather phenomena in the agriculture and fishing industries.
The island's current heat wave may peak in November through January of the next year, according to provincial administrator Asteria Caberte, who claimed they have been constantly watching the province's agriculture sector.
The El Niño is anticipated to begin in October and extend through March 2024, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
The province of Bohol has long been known as the "rice bowl" of Central Visayas, with agriculture continuing to be its largest industry in terms of labor force and land utilization.
184,874 hectares, or around 45 percent of the province's total land area, are used for agriculture, with numerous tiny farms having an average size of about half a hectare.
According to Caberte, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist will contribute P7.1 million in collaboration with national government organizations to develop interventions and provide help for impacted farmers in the upcoming months.
She stated that 647 groups will get irrigation supplies from this grant, including a water pump, eight plastic barrels, and five rolls of polyethylene hose for each organization.
According to Bohol gears up for El Niño | Inquirer News, the recipient must be a member of a farming organization with at least 25 members, the applicant must have access to an open water source, and the beneficiary must already have an agricultural area of at least 250 square meters.
According to Bohol gears up for El Niño | Inquirer News, cloud seeding, P2.4 million worth of vegetable seeds, certificates for fertilizer assistance, and crop insurance for farmers are some more measures.
As Bohol has a total of nine national irrigation systems with 226 linked communal irrigation systems, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) also keeps a constant eye on the water levels in the dams.
The drought in 2018 caused the rice fields of Bohol to dry up. In addition, the water levels in four irrigation dams—the Malinao Dam in Pilar Town, the Bayongan Dam in San Miguel Town, the Capayas Dam in Ubay Town, and the Zamora Dam in Talibon Town—have decreased.
Aris Aumentado, according to Bohol gears up for El Niño | Inquirer News, the governor of Bohol, established an El Niño task team earlier this year to supervise the strategies for reducing El Niño's effects.
