Header image courtesy of Department of Agriculture 7 FB page

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) -- The provincial government of Bohol  is stepping up its information campaign in the agriculture sector following reports of livestock deaths due to heat stroke. 

Provincial veterinarian Dr. Stella Marie Lapiz said livestock deaths have been reported in Bien Unido town while several incidents of heat stroke symptoms in livestock have been recorded across the province. 

Records from the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian show that one carabao and one goat died due to heat stroke as a result of the extreme heat brought about by the El Niño phenomenon. 

“I hope, I pray nga dili ta mag declare og state of calamity with all the measures undertaken led by the Office of the Governor through the El Niño Task Force,” said Dr. Anthony Damalerio, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) officer and vice chair of the Task Force on El Niño. 

(I hope and pray we don’t have to declare a state of calamity with all the measures undertaken by the Office of the Governor through the El Niño Task Force.)

The governor earlier created the task force after PAGASA’s pronouncements of El Niño last year.

Damalerio said the provincial government is on top of the situation through the conduct of more information dissemination activities and immediate interventions not only in the agriculture sector but also in health and DRRM, among others.

He said Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado is expected to issue a directive to cascade preparedness as PAGASA forecasts the persistence of the El Niño phenomenon until July.

As of April 12, the damage and losses incurred by the agriculture sector in the province due to the El Niño phenomenon have reached the P54 million mark, according to the Office Provincial Agriculturist (OPA). 

OPA reported that as of 5:00 p.m. on April 12, the damage and losses were P54,439,669.86. 

Partial agricultural damage has been reported in the following towns: Municipality of Clarin (P16,735,208); Sierra-Bullones (P15,503,369); Calape (P5,654,428.57); San Miguel (P5,416,260.72); Bien Unido (P4,073,174.36); Trinidad (P2,742,446.00); Valencia (P2,207,118); Catigbian (P1,476,334); Sevilla (P480,851,01), and Pres. Carlos P. Garcia (P150,480). 

More than 90 percent of the damage is in rice production with the remaining on corn and high-value crops. 

It can be recalled that during the first quarter meeting of the PDRRM Council, Aumentado directed concerned agencies to conduct cloud seeding operations this month.

A total of P7.5 million was allocated for the cloud seeding operations, with P2.5 million taken from the Disaster Fund of the PDRRMO and P5 million from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management of the Department of Agriculture.  

The province declared a state of emergency due to El Niño in 2016 after the agriculture sector sustained damage of over P300 million, and also in 2019 when the assessed damage was pegged at P179 million. (ECB/PIA7 Bohol with reports from PIMO)