Drought exacts toll on Cotabato farmers

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 16 April) – Farmer Deylon Musa, 62, shared boiled rice and steamed camote tops with his wife Pundo and a five-year-old granddaughter for lunch on Thursday at their small, dilapidated hut at Barangay Tamontaka here just beside his rice field.

An hour earlier, under the scorching heat of the sun, Musa finished his routine working on a hectare of farm land that used to be soaked in water.

But the drought has changed all that, as the dry spell has hit his farm bad since February. He could no longer harvest the rice on his field, the stalks still swaying with the wind.

He gasped with despair.

Musa’s face showed how he and other farmers have suffered due to the dry spell. His farmland, used to be lush green, has turned into yellowish brown.

If the drought goes on, Musa could not say how he could make both ends meet. His wife is earning just enough for the family’s food on the table through laundry jobs.

“This is my worst problem,” Musa told reporters as he showed his devastated farmland.

At least 19 of Cotabato City’s 37 villages have been placed under state of calamity due to the drought after the agriculture sector suffered P17 million losses to agricultural crops.

More than 300 farmers in 400 hectares farmlands planted to rice and corn have been affected by the drought in the city’s agricultural sites.

“All I pray is rain, more rain because we cannot rely on water from the river. Strong rain is what we need here,” Musa said as he was about to embarked on another round of farm work going to his vegetable yard.

Mayor Japal Guiani Jr. said the Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved a resolution putting the affected villages under a state of calamity so the local government could use its calamity fund in helping the affected farmers.

“State of calamity has been declared in 19 villages so that our farmers can receive assistance from concerned government agencies while our government workers can avail of calamity loan,” Guiani said in an interview.

He also chided the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for what he called a “ghost project” in Barangay Tamontaka, referring to a 100-hectare irrigation rehabilitation project in the area implemented by NIA with a budget of P64 million, expected to have been completed in 2012.

Guiani could hardly believe the city rice fields have dried up when there are several tributaries to the farms. Furthermore, Cotabato is surrounded by two big rivers – Rio Grande de Mindanao and the Tamontaka River.

The mayor said there must be an investigation on the project. It turned out the project was mothballed.

“Our farmers are now suffering because hundred of hectares of farmlands programmed for irrigation with this huge budget was not completed,” he said.

Guiani stressed that the farmers here should not have experienced drought as there is supposed to be ample water supply, if only the irrigation project was pushed through.

Food Security Secretary Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, who also chairs NIA, was asked about the alleged “ghost project” during his visit to Maguindanao but declined to comment, saying no report about it has reached his office.

He said he will call for an investigation.

MindaNews contacted the public information office of NIA-12 but the woman on the phone could not comment on the issue, saying only her boss, who was not in the office, was authorized to respond. MindaNews also asked for the regional director’s number, but NIA has not yet replied as of press time. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews with reports from Joyce Toledo and Tanto Piang Jr., University of Southern Mindanao Development Communication interns)

On dry spell and grassfires, BKAG encourages to plant more trees

A student participated in tree planting during Treevolution campaign

COTABATO CITY (March 28) – In the face of long dry spell affecting Mindanao, the Balik Kalikasan Advocacy Group (BKAG), an environmental protection advocacy organization, has appealed to the public to help fight grass and forest fires and continue tree planting.

Helping each other in planting trees

In a statement, BKAG believed that forest fires, if left unattended, could damages properties and even claim lives as a result of drought happening since January. 

It cited a case of grass fire at the back of Maguindanao police provincial office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao which damaged about 2-hectares of grass. 

It was put off by inhabitants, firemen and civilians.

Any destruction to forests put the environment in serious danger thus everybody’s participation is being solicited form the general public. 

Climate change has been destroying agricultural products, turning green forest into brown which indicates a dying forests. 

A clear sign of changing environment was that people easily get dehydrated as in the case of families displaced by armed conflict and stayed in evacuation centers in Maguindanao.

Local official and Army official working together

BKAG said the trees planted in the past decade helped cushion the climate change.

The group had planted Talipao and Antipolo trees along the highways in Maguindanao which are now used by IDPs. 

Records show that about 50 percent of the more than one million trees it planted in the past 10 years have survived and grew that contributed in the entire ecosystem of Maguindanao.

More than 10 years of partnership, the BKAG continues to advocate environmental protection programs spearheaded by the officers and men of the 6th Infantry Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DENR-ARMM, civil society, business, academe, private sectors and the media. 

ARMM Gov. Mujiv  Hataman for his share in bringing back mother earth

Late last year, BKAG actively participated in the TreeVolution Mindanao, an island-wide one-hour simultaneous tree planting program which broke the Guinness Book of World Records.

It planted more than 2 million trees in an hour. In preparation for the coming rainy season, BKAG has prepared Antipolo and Talipao trees in its nursery in Minrico compound, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. 

BKAG during Treevolution planting

These seedlings will be available for free to any group which wish to participate in tree planting activities or greening program. (Ferdinandh Cabrera)

North Cotabato not lowering guards vs terror attacks, economy perks up despite threats

Multimedia By Ferdinandh Cabrera

KIDAPAWAN CITY (March 21) – Alert status in North Cotabato remained high despite the death of Malaysian terrorist and arrest of another leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza has said.

 

Mendoza said terrorism has taken its toll on the provincial government’s peace and development thrusts.

Bafore the fall of Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan,” his group had planned to set off improvised bombs in Mlang and Midsayap, both in North Cotabato.

Police and local officials have blamed the BIFF, which was reported to have coddled Marwan, his Filipino aide Basit Usman, from the twin bombings in Mlang last year. 

On November 23, three teenagers were killed when suspected BIFF set off an Improvised Explosive Device in Mlang billiard hall near the town plaza.  On December 31, two were killed when suspected BIFF set off another bomb at the town’s public market.

 

Earlier, the BIFF set off an IED in Poblacion Kabacan, killing a female college student and wounded 17 others.

Mendoza said eve with the arrest of Mohammad Ali Tambako and death of Marwan, security officials in North Cotabato are not letting down its guards and remained on alert.

Mendoza said Usman, Marwan and other lawless group leaders have trained young members in bomb making and carrying it to populated communities which remains concern and the only means to halt their evil agenda is from the vigilance of every citizen.

“They have trained many bombers, so we remained on alert,” Mendoza said.  “Terrorism by these groups hinder our peace and development efforts, the trained bombers are still out there so we remained on alert.”

But despite these threats, the province has earned 1.5 billion pesos from agricultural and industrial investments poured in, the governor reported during her 5^th State of the Province Address in Makilala last Tuesday.

“If not with the threats, we could have reach more than that as robust investments are coming, that is why strive more to support the peace programs”, Mendoza added.

She recounted that 2014 is year of success and tragic events  but like a steel under fire, the people showed how to be strong  and united amidst trials and remains intact.

In her report, among her administration’s achievements are in the fields of financial management, infrastructures, socio-cultural, agricultural and economic development, health and wellness, education, peace and order, sports and others, to include the Department of Interior and Local Government's (DILG) Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping which was awarded to them just this February.

Mendoza vowed to continue transparency and good governance thru effective and inclusive participation of all the provincial officials.END