Lawmakers echo call for cloud seeding amid drought

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY — Representatives Mercedes Alvarez-Lansang of the 6th district and Atty. Dino Yulo of the 5th district of Negros Occidental have called for cloud seeding to mitigate the severe effects of the El Niño phenomenon that has damaged crops and adversely affected farmers in the region.

“I am for it,” Alvarez-Lansang said during an ambush interview at the opening of the 28th Panaad sa Negros festival at Panaad Park and Stadium on Monday evening. She expressed the urgency for action, saying, “We cannot just sit by and wait; if it’s possible, why not?”

Alvarez-Lansang revealed she has requested the Department of Agriculture (DA) to extend possible assistance to farmers, as her district, particularly the southern part, experiences extreme heat with agricultural lands so parched they can no longer be cultivated.

“I have been going around, especially in the upland areas, it’s obviously very dry, and we are looking for ways to help the farmers,” she added.

Additionally, she met with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) due to forest fires in the region. She emphasized that while assistance is a short-term solution, the long-term remedy is reforestation. “We will be asking for seedlings from the DA and DENR to replant,” Alvarez-Lansang stated.

Previously, Yulo urged the Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM) to reassess its decision against cloud seeding, disputing their claim of the absence of seedable clouds and potential damage to mangoes in Guimaras. He has gone as far as to provide photographic evidence of clouds over the area to the BSWM and has been persistent in his advocacy.

Yulo criticized the BSWM for dismissing cloud seeding as a drought solution and challenged their reasons, arguing that the risk-benefit analysis for southern Negros, which is distant from Guimaras, might favor cloud seeding.

“The BSWM should have noticed the rain clouds over southern Negros,” Yulo argued, advocating for government action in the face of climate challenges.