Hunger looms amid dry spell

Alarmed by the intensifying damages of the dry spell in the country, a lawmaker said that the Arroyo government is ill-prepared in facing El Niño phenomenon.

In a statement, Anakpawis Representative Rafael Mariano said that the administration’s lack of preparedness to cushion the impacts of El Niño threatens the country’ s food security and could result to massive hunger nationwide.

Mariano expressed this despite Malacañang’s order to cut down on water supply to conserve remaining resources.

Administrative Order 278 issued last Feb. 8 formalized a January directive for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to cut allocations to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Irrigation Authority (NIA).

"There is a need to actively implement water conservation measures and to improve the operational efficiency of water service providers to maximize the limited supply of water," the Palace order states. The said directive orders the following:

for local governments to report all water leaks and pilferage;
for the Trade and Finance departments to grant incentives to the production of goods that conserve water, as well as businesses undertaking optimum water conservation; and
for the National Economic and Development Authority to assist the DENR and the NWRB in determining options for demand management, operational efficiency improvement and new water supply sources

However, the solon deems that AO 278 and other government efforts are still futile in addressing the phenomenon and safeguarding the food security of the people.

Since January, three provinces in Visayas have started to bear the effects of El Niño manifested in below normal rainfall. The provinces of Capiz, Aklan and Guimaras had below normal rainfall since August and have started experiencing drought. Water [F1] level in dams supplying water to Metro Manila has been at critical levels.

This new dry spell occurred months after the back-to-back storms that devastated the country late last year.

Low water pressure in the Metro

As a result of the continued fall in water level of Angat Dam which supplies water in Metro Manila, low water pressure is now experienced in elevated areas of the metropolis.

Herbert M. Consunji, chief operating officer of Maynilad , said in an interview: "If this drought will worsen, there will be problems in pressure and available water. We have prepared water tankers on high places in case we may have to ration."

Asked if rationing could occur by May -- the projected peak of a drought according to the weather bureau, Mr. Consunji replied: "We’re trying to minimize these things."

He said the firm had instituted conservation measures to augment low supply from Angat dam, including reducing pressure in certain areas to minimize leakages.

Making rain, drizzling food and cash

For its part, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) have considered cloud-seeding as one solution to the crisis. However, rainmakers are having trouble finding clouds to induce rain over northern Luzon. “So there is not much we can do but to repair water pipe leaks,” NDCC chair, Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development are preparing the cash and food-for-work programs to help 1.3 million poor families cope with the dry spell. The cash-for-work program will provide P150 a day to each poor household for two weeks, while the food-for-work program will give one cavan of rice to each family for the entire month, according to Yangco.

Social Welfare Secretary Celia Yangco said DSWD was just awaiting Malacañang’s go-signal to implement livelihood programs to help the poorest families as the El Niño phenomenon continue to dry up farmlands and dams across the country.

Impending hunger

Earlier, Senate Committee Chair on Food and Agriculture Loren Legarda had warned that changes in temperature, rainfall and sea level would be disastrous to the agricultural sector. Crop yield potential is estimated to decline by 19 percent in Asia toward the end of the century and rice yield in the Philippines would decline by 75 percent,” the senator said.

She also filed a resolution urging the government for urgent action to avert a food production crisis resulting from El Nino.

The Department of Agriculture has projected a loss of P20.4 B due to the severe dry spell [F4] . Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla said early this month that an estimate of 816,372 metric tons (MT) of rice worth P12.24-billion; 440,429 MT of corn worth P5.2-billion; 42,362 MT of marine catch worth P2.54- billion; and 3.08-million MT of high value commercial crops (HVCCs) worth P443-million will be affected the El Nino attack.

The total production losses under a mild El Nino scenario could reach P8.09-billion.

Meanwhile, Mariano, who also chairs peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) demanded that DA lay down a concrete action plan to support production and save farmers from extreme hunger.

“Magbibilang na lang ba ng damages ang gobyerno? (Will the government only estimate the damages?) Farmers need direct intervention from the government by extending food subsidies and collateral-free and zero-interest loans.” He suggested that the government must mobilize its resources to subsidize agricultural production by providing water pumps, oil discounts, fertilizers, credit and marketing support.

Another Jocjoc

The Anakpawis lawmaker added that the current drought may be exploited by the Arroyo government in plundering agricultural funds anew. He called on farmers to closely monitor the ‘movements’ in the DA to avert another fertilizer fund scam this coming May 2010 elections.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap also heads Task Force El Nino that was tasked to release P1.7 billion to fund emergency measures to mitigate the detrimental effects of the dry spell on the fisheries and agriculture sectors.

Mariano said the lack of preparedness of the government in helping the farmers during this crisis is traced to the culture of “corruption with impunity” in DA.

He noted the almost P7-billion wastage of DA funds was reported by the Commission on Audit (COA) in 2008 . In the said CoA report, DA was named as the ‘top performer’ in wasteful fund management.

Photo c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites