Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban on Thursday assured that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is taking necessary actions to prepare the agriculture and fisheries sector ahead of the looming El Niño threat this year.
“We in the DA are doing our best in trying to allocate the resources like seeds, fertilizers, and other commodities that are necessary for the impact of the El Niño phenomenon to the farming communities in the country,” the DA official said.
Earlier, the DA’s National El Niño Team (DA-NENT) convened with partner agencies from the Food Security Group under the NENT of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) for its first inter-agency meeting to discuss the actions taken and plans of the member-agencies.
For his part, DA Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel de Mesa said, “DA is already preparing for the worst scenario for El Niño this year.”
“Nevertheless, we will be of course expecting Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) to provide us regular updates on this,” he added.
De Mesa also said that not all areas in the country will be affected, thus the government initiatives could focus more on areas that may be severely hit.
De Mesa also urged the representatives from partner government agencies to facilitate easy access and sharing of information with the DA to guide planning and decision-making activities.
“With all of us working together, we shall be able to achieve more,” Panganiban said.