Occasional rains in Bohol not enough to save parched fields

TAGBILARAN CITY, BOHOL, Philippines —The dry spell in Bohol continues to persist despite the start of the rainy season, with numerous farms still reeling from the effects of lack of water.

As of June, the drought’s damage to agriculture and fisheries had reached P459 million and affected 22,000 farmers in the province, according to acting provincial agriculturist Larry Pamugas.

Water levels at the major dams in Bohol have also almost reached critical levels, the National Irrigation Administration reported last week.

READ: Bohol farmers still waiting for rains

The Malinao Dam in Pilar town, the province’s oldest water reservoir that supplies water to 4,740 hectares of rice fields in the towns of Pilar, Alicia, Ubay, San Miguel and Dagohoy, is short of water.

The Capayas Dam in Ubay town that services 1,160 ha of rice fields, was below normal level while the Bayongan Dam in San Miguel town was close to drying up.

The water shortage has so far affected at least 533.5 ha of rice fields in Bohol, considered the rice bowl of Central Visayas.

Pamugas said the recent rains in Bohol were not enough to give relief to dried up farms.

Cloud seeding

To induce rain, the provincial government of Bohol has defrayed P2.5 million for cloud seeding operations as a counterpart to the P5 million secured from the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Soils and Water Management under the National Rice Program-Production support services.

Bohol experienced some rain following a cloud seeding operation on June 24 but it did not fill the dams.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who visited Bohol last Friday, turned over P50 million in checks to Bohol acting Gov. Dionisio Victor Balite and assured local residents of continuous assistance from the government.

The President also distributed aid, farm equipment and seeds intended for some 7,634 farmers and fisherfolk severely affected by the El Niño weather phenomenon during the first half of the year.

“We want to make sure that they get all the benefits they deserve to get from the government,” said Marcos, who was on his first visit to Bohol since he was elected president in 2022.

Also present during the event were Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr.

Bohol has approximately 136,613 ha of agricultural land, excluding watersheds and forest reserves, that require irrigation, including 58,222 ha of rice lands, 5,886 ha of cornfields, 34,846 ha planted with high-value crops, 35,338 ha of coconut land and 2,321 ha planted with other crops. Only 28,207 ha of rice fields are irrigated, leaving 30,015 ha dependent on rainfall.

Bohol has been under a state of calamity since May 21 as a result of the prolonged dry spell.