There is no defense against climate change. But the government should allocate more funds for cloud seeding to prevent the region’s fruit-bearing trees from succumbing to the effects of extended drought.
“We hope there would be no repeat of last year when funds for cloud seeding were a little too late,” said Atty. Antonio Partoza, Jr., president of the Mindanao Fruit Development Industry Council.
The council is comprised of 22 associations and cooperatives with memberships all over Mindanao.
Partoza told the Wednesday Habi and Kape press forum that cloud seeding remains the only option left for government to improve the position of fruit-growers to be able to raise fruits both for the domestic and foreign markets.
Last year’s eight-month drought wiped out one-third of the region’s durian production, including mangosteen, lanzones, cacao and other fruit-bearing trees that rely on irrigation to sustain production.
Partoza said his farm alone saw 422 fruit-bearing durian trees succumbing to the drought, adding that when cloud-seeding came, it was a little too late.
He said that to cope with the drought, he has resorted to the use of resilient rootstock to replenish his crop loss.
One fruit-bearing durian trees requires at least a drum of water for irrigation daily.
By way of unsolicited advice, he said the agriculture department should allocate extra funds for cloud-seeding as part of the annual budget to cope with any eventuality.
He said the DA should also intervene in terms of providing fertilizer and pesticide requirements to help the industry stay afloat.
“We hope the DA can fulfill this promise it made to fruit growers during the past administration,” he said.
Partoza expressed optimism that the current DA leadership is ‘more well-grounded this time around and can make the situation more favorable to the fruit growers.”
