Bohol to conduct cloudseeding next month

The Provincial Government of Bohol through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in coordination
with the Department of Agriculture (DA) is determined to conduct the cloud seeding operations in the latter part of
next month to save the standing crops from El Nino on that time.

This developed even after the two days of ocular assessment conducted by the Technical Working Group (TWG)
on El Nino last May 30-31, 2023 of the four dams in the province of Bohol: Bayongan Dam in San Miguel, Malinao
Dam (Pilar), Capayas Dam (Ubay), and Zamora Dam (Talibon), it was found out that the irrigation water is still
enough to be used in this wet cropping season.

However, they explained that the present condition of the water supply of the four dams could not sustain the
water requirements until the vegetative and flowering stages of planted crops especially rice this season, thus cloud
seeding operations are needed.

During the meeting of the TWG on El Nino which consists the representatives from the PGBh, Bureau of Soil
and Water Management (BSWM), DA, and National Irrigation Administration (NIA) last Thursday at the OPA
Conference Room, New Capitol Building, they agreed to utilize first the standby fund amounted to P2.5M from the
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PRRMO) for the one round of cloud seeding operation
to be conducted on the last week of July; while waiting on the result of the formal request from the provincial
government to BSWM to allocate funds in the amount of P7.5M so as to conduct three rounds of cloud seeding
operations in addition to the funds from PGBh.

Gov. Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado wrote a letter addressed to Director Gina P. Nilo, BSWM, last May 16, 2023,
formally requesting to set aside funds for the conduct of making artificial rain to save the agricultural products to
include livestock in Bohol.

Gov. Aumentado during the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council full meeting of which he is
the chairman last May 16, 2023, at the Ceremonial Hall, 4 th  Floor, New Capitol Building received three resolutions
from the Malinao Dam Federation of Irrigators Association (MADFIA), Bayongan and Capayas Farmers/Irrigators
Association (BAY_CAPA), Inc. and Talibon Small Reservoir Irrigators System (SRIS) Irrigators Association, Inc.
with the same tenor which is to request the governor of Bohol to allocate funds for cloud seeding for the wet
cropping season.

Corazon Ditarro from BSWM said that according to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Service Administration (PAG-ASA) 22/24 models suggest potentials for El Nino by May-July 2023. Both the
dynamical and statistical models indicate El Nino by May-July 2023, with the warming stronger in the dynamical
models. In the model output and expert judgment for the ENSO El Nino probability forecast, there is an 82% for the
May-June-July 2023 season up to 93% December 2023-January 2024-February 2024 seasons.
Bohol has a total of 57, 007.05 hectares (has.) of rice land areas of which 25, 885 has. are irrigated and 31,
122.05 are rainfed wherein of the total rice areas the municipality of Ubay has the biggest areas among towns of
Bohol with 8, 314 has. (4,149 has. – irrigated and 4, 165 has. – rainfed).

The TWG El Nino justified that the cloud seeding operations do not only intended for rice, corn but for all
commodities to include human lives and livestock.  By Atoy Cosap