Cebu City farmers ask dads to place city under state of calamity too
The ground cracks due to the dry spell in Cebu City. CDN Digital photo | Tonee Despojo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Following Cebu province’s declaration of State of Calamity, the federation of farmers in Cebu City is now asking the city government to declare the same in order to facilitate faster delivery of aids to farmers in upland barangays, whose crops are already damaged by the weak El Niño.
Ben Lagahid, Jr., president of the Cebu City Farmers’ Federation, said a big portion of their produce is already damaged due to the dry spell.
Lagahid, a resident of Barangay Budlaan, said some farmers have also opted not to plant, fearing that their crops will just wilt because of the heat.
Read more: El Niño Phenomenon: Cebu province under state of calamity
The City Council last week, March 19, 2019, has placed the city under the state of preparedness.
The City Agriculture Office has already pegged the damage of the dry spell at P4.6 million, based on the assessment of 133 farmers who reported that their farmlands are affected.
Emelio Secretaria, consultant and former president of the Famers’ Federation, said the immediate assistance that they need in order to save what is left of their crops include water hoses and water storage materials.
Read more: DA-7: 417.3 hectares of farmland in CV affected by dry spell
For the long term, Secretaria added that the city government, by declaring the state of calamity, will be able to give them seeds and capital to replant and recover after the dry spell.
“Pagpananom namo karon, ang uban mag-uuma nangutang man gud unya nag-init, nangadaot ang tanom so di kabayad sa utang. Kinahanglan man gyud na og capital aron makatanom og balik so pinaagi sa state of calamity, nanghinaot mi nga mahatagan mi of ayuda sa siyudad,” said Secretaria.
(When we planted for this quarter, other farmers loaned money as capital. Now that the crops wilted due to the heat, they cannot pay for their debts. We need capital to replant and we hope that through declaring a state of calamity, the city will be able to help us.) /bmjo
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