Author: Venus Ladaga

The evaluating teams for the different categories of the Suhid sa Malampusong Mag-uumang Bol-anon 2019 will start to evaluate the nominees on next week.
The evaluation is supposed to be conducted last week but the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) through the Office of the Agriculturist (OPA) had reconsidered the requests of some Municipal Agricultural Officers/Municipal Agriculturists (MAOs/ MAs) to extend the deadline for submission of nominees until last week.
The OPA has already prepared the guidelines and criteria as a basis for judging of the different categories of the search and already created the evaluating teams to do the evaluations.
NOMINEES FOR CATEGORIES
The office has received nominees for the different SUHID categories namely: Outstanding Fisherman, Outstanding Fisherfolks (Fresh Water Fish Ponds), Outstanding Fisherfolks Association, Outstanding Fishery Technician, Outstanding Farmer (Fish Culture), Outstanding Rice Farmer, Outstanding Hybrid Rice, Outstanding Rice Technician, Outstanding Organic Agriculture Farmer Group, Outstanding Japonica Rice Farmer, Outstanding Organic Agriculture Practitioner Farmer,
Outstanding Rural Improvement Club, Outstanding Rural Women, Outstanding Agri-Enterprise for Crops, Outstanding Agri-Enterprise for Fishery, Outstanding Large Animal Raiser, Outstanding Small Animal Raiser, Outstanding Livestock Technician, Outstanding Corn Farmer, Outstanding Banana Farmer, Outstanding Corn Technician, Outstanding HVCDP Crop Farmer (vegetable), Outstanding HVCDP Technician,
And the outstanding FarmersAssociation, Outstanding Young Farmer, Outstanding Farm Family, Outstanding Municipal Agricultural and Fishery Council and Outstanding Municipal Agricultural Officer/Municipal Agriculturist.
The evaluators have composed by OPA employees and representatives from Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), National Irrigation Administration (NIA)7, Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), Department of Agriculture – Provincial Agricultural Technology Coordinating Committee (DA-PATCO), Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPV), and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
During the pre-evaluation meeting last August 29, 2019 held at the Office of Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Larry M. Pamugas, 3rd Floor, Bohol Capitol Building the issues like vehicles to be used, the dates of evaluation, and the category of which the nominees would not reach into three, among others were being tackled.
Rosanna G. Lamdagan, Chief-Agribusiness Division, OPA said the category whose nominees would not reach into three is not included in the SUHID search because the Commission On Audit (COA) would not allow the PGBh to release fund for the prize.
Lamdagan said the OPA would send a letter to the MAOs/MAs informing them that their nominees would no longer be evaluated because the number of nominees of the respective category would not reach into three which is allowable by COA.
Pamugas said Gov. Arthur C. Yap underscored the importance of the Suhid sa Malampusong Mag-uumang Bol-anon and with that, the PGBh would award and recognize the efforts among Boholano farmers and agri-stakeholders who have helped the provincial government to sustain its title as “Food Basket” in Central Visayas. (Atoy Cosap)

FINALIZING THE MOVE. Assistant Provincial Agriculturist Larry M. Pamugas together with the members of the evaluating teams of Suhid sa Malampusong Mag-uumang Bol-anon during the pre-evaluation meeting last August 29, 2019, at his office in the Bohol Capitol Building, tackles and discusses things relevance in the conduct of evaluation of the nominees of the different categories of SUHID. Foto: RHEZA GUTTIEREZ, OPA staff

The Cloud Seeding Operations (CSOs) is badly needed now to save the reproductive stage of the standing crop or for the sustenance of the planted rice in the province of Bohol.
Engr. Evelyn Putong from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) 7 said that it is too late for the reproductive stage of standing crop if the CSOs will be conducted on the mid of September because at this stage it needs enough supply of water in order to produce good grains.
Conducting CSOs beyond on the first week of this month is no longer useful for the standing crop now because the rice paddies have already cracked and the crop would already die at that time, she concluded.
Engr. Putong disclosed that the releasing of irrigation water from the Talibon Dam in barangay Zamora, Talibon to the service areas in town has already been stopped because the water elevation is now near to the critical level of which the actual level has registered at 21.89 meters (ms.), critical-21.00 ms. and at full 30.00 ms.;
The Malinao Dam in Pilar, actual-148.32ms, critical-146.5ms., at full 152ms.; Bayongan Dam in San Miguel, actual – 43.44 ms., critical – 41.00 ms., at full 52ms.; while in the Capayas Dam in Lumangog, Ubay, actual – 33.48 ms., critical-30.00 ms., at full-36.5 ms.,
As to when the CSOs to be conducted again in Bohol, the ball now is on the hands of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFO7) as the fund in the tune of P2.5 million intended for Bohol CSOs from the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) was already downloaded to DA-RFO7 and the project had already bidded sometimes in March this year.
Leon Parac Jr., cloud seeding focal person said that the formal letter from the El Niño Taskforce requesting to implement the operations in Bohol had already sent to DA7 Executive Director Atty. Salvador Diputado.
Parac said attached in the letter was the resolution from the Federated Irrigators Association of the Malinao Dam covered service areas seeking to implement the CSOs in Bohol the soonest possible time in order to save the reproductive stage of standing crop.
He said that the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBH) now through the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA) has kept on doing a constant follow-up.
Mary Grace Baay also from NIA 7 during the Provincial Coordinating Committee on Agri-Fishery (PCCAF) meeting last Wednesday held at the Constrell Pension House, New Calceta, Cogon, Tagbilaran City reported that of the areas covered by National Irrigation System (NIS) in the 8,701.89 hectares (has.) of irrigated areas they planned to be planted, only 3,899.23 has. have realized or at 44% because of insufficient supply of water among the dams.
Baay said in Malinao Dam, of the 4,016 has. they programmed only 2,069.23 has. have planted; Bayongan Dam of the 3,047.00 has. only 911.00 has. hove planted; Capayas-out of the 858.00 has. only 620 has. have planted; while the Talibon Dam – only 299.00 has. have planted out of the 780.89 has. they programmed.
Gerry Binangbang from Phillippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the same PCCAF meeting reported that based on their data gathered the standing crop to be harvested within this month of September have an area of 1,258 has. of which the 988 has. are irrigated and 270 has. are rainfed; while the rice lands that were planted last August and to be harvested on November have an area of 19,194 has. of which the 9,337 has. are irrigated and 9,857 has. are rainfed.
Leonard Samar from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) reported that the Weak El Niño has ended last August and the weather conditions from this month up to November are forecasted as normal.
However, he clarified that we could only experience light to moderate rains and we could not expect to experience heavy rains to happen.
Samar said the month of December is forecasted as above normal of which we would expect to experience heavy rains. (Atoy Cosap)

CAPTION:
WATER ALMOST IN CRITICAL LEVEL. The Talibon Dam in Zamora, Talibon covered the service areas in town has temporarily stopped for releasing of irrigation water to the service areas because the water elevation is near to critical level. The operation resumes once the stocked water has been refilled by rains.

The El Niño Task Force (ENTF) in the province of Bohol and the Boholano farmers have been seeking for another round of Cloud Seeding Operations (CSOs) to be conducted to save the tilling, booting and flowering stages of standing crop in the already cracked rice lands in Bohol.

The ENTF during the CSOs post-assessment meeting last August 5, 2019, had recommended more rounds of CSOs because some municipalities did not experience rain in the height of the recently concluded cloud seeding operations due to the absence of seedable clouds.

After the CSOs last month funded by the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) in the tune of P2.3 million, the province has not experienced heavy rains causing the rice paddies to dry and crack.

Earlier, Leon Parac, Jr., cloud seeding focal person bared that the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) through the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office (DA-RFO) 7 have a standing fund worth P2.5 million for the 42-hour CSOs intended for Bohol.

Parac added that the project was already bidded sometime in March this year and ready for implementation.

The rice paddies along the national highways in different towns in Bohol have cracked and the standing crop might be damaged if there will be no rains especially in September.

Some farmers in the province have not transplanted their rice seedlings from the seedbeds due to insufficient supply of water in the rice fields.

Romulo Campoamor, one of the farmers in Villafuerza, Carmen said that several hectares of planted rice in his town would incur damage if there are no rains. This will be a problem to farmers who are solely dependent on rice farming.

OrmanHilot, one of the employees of the OPA said that even in his hometown in Bilar, the rice paddies have experienced dry spell and there are even farmers who have not transplanted their rice seedlings due to insufficient supply of water. Accordingly Bilar is known to be a rice producer municipality because of its good supply of water from its natural sources.(AtoyCosap)

NEEDSWATER. The standing crop in its booting stage in Buenavista, Carmen, Bohol would be among the thousands of hectares of rice lands that would incur damage if rains won’t come in September. FOTO Alfredo Amora, Jr.