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P7.6-B allocated for El Niño effects
Published: December 03, 2006 by The Bohol Standard

THE GOVERNMENT has allocated funds to deal with the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon on agriculture, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said.

But Andaya said the passage of the 2007 budget was crucial, saying this contained a proposal for the P7.6-billion outlay to bring water to 17,150 hectares of farmland all over the country.

Of this amount, P7.31 billion has been allocated to the Department of Agriculture while P330 million has been included in the budget of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

The proposed P1.136 trillion budget for next year is being deliberated on at the Senate.

"If the national budget will be signed into law before the end of the year, then we can have a headstart in readying our irrigation systems for the coming dry spell," Andaya said in a statement.

Weather officials had said that in a worst-case scenario, the El Niño phenomenon could last until the first quarter of 2007.

Meanwhile, The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC0 has yet to meet to mitigate the ill-effects of El Niño. Ret. Col. Jacinto Piquero, (PDCC) Executive Officer, said that PAGASA and the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist will be called to attend the said meeting to report on El Niño, its effects to agriculture and preparations. (PIA/Bohol-aeescobia)

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