Short drizzle not yet a cloud seeding says DA 12

The Department of Agriculture Region 12 said the short drizzle felt early this morning in South Cotabato was not yet a result of the planned cloud seeding operation earlier announced by the department.
Despite the onslaught of a dry spell around the region which affected s nearby provinces and caused the declaration under the state of a calamity of nearby towns, the DA 12 is yet to conduct the cloud seeding operations later this month.
Regional Executive Director Milagros Casis said the DA12 has already allotted Php2.5 million for the conduct at least 40 rounds of cloud seeding operations which will cover the whole of the Soccsksargen region.
starting this month.
Aside from South Cotabato, it will also benefit farmers from Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and General Santos.
“This intervention is part of our preparation and mitigation activities in line with the anticipated El Niño phenomenon,” she said.
Recently, the Philippine, Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) released an advisory which indicated a weak El Niño and below normal rainfall in the coming months.
And South Cotabato along with other provinces in the region were reported affected by the drought, however, it was tagged as “ not affected” based on the rainfall assessment and forecast.
Aside from the cloud seeding operations, DA-12 has readied 9,000 bags of palay seeds as part of its interventions coming from the Quick Response Fun.
“We are continuously monitoring and validating reports as to the extent of damage of the drought and its beneficiaries.” The DA -12 chief said,
In 2016, Region 12 was hardly hit by El Nino and farmers were advised not to plant rice or corn in order not to create more loses.
This time, farmers are advised to plant drought- resilient rice varieties or shift to root crops as rice substitutes such as cassava and, camote; and other crops such as legumes and even watermelons.