DA study needed before cloud seeding operation
Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Executive Director Larry Nacionales said there are important things that should be considered in granting the request of a local government for cloud seeding operation.
Nacionales said the cloud formation, wind velocity and standing crop in the locality should be taken into consideration before approving any request for a cloud seeding operation.
The cloud seeding operation might not be advisable to some areas. Some rice lands are planted with water melons after the second cropping ended. Rain would affect mango and water melon plantations.
The regional office has to spend wisely the P2.8 million cloud seeding fund released by the national government to Western Visayas for its El Niño mitigating measures, said Nacionales.
It is a risk for the agriculture secretary to release the P2.8 million cloud seeding fund for Western Visayas. It is not easy to get resources after the department’s experiences in the Guimaras oil spill and Typhoon Frank, said Nacionales.
Initially, the regional office has spent P1 million for the cloud seeding operation in the province of Negros Occidental. There are large sugarcane plantations in the province which needs water, he said.
On the proposal of the Iloilo city government for a cloud seeding operation in the Maasin watershed, Nacionales said they have to carefully assess it.
Earlier, Mayor Jerry Treñas wanted a cloud seeding operation at Maasin watershed to ease the water shortage in the city. The Maasin watershed is the source of water supply of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) for its concessionaires in Iloilo City and different municipalities in the city and province of Iloilo.
The concern of the city for potable water is no longer a part of the DA’s plan. Nevertheless, the agriculture department will try to operate to prove that indeed a cloud seeding operation in the water dam is feasible, said Nacionales.
