The Department of Agriculture (DA) is giving high priority on rainwater harvesting as a measure to address the water scarcity in the country.

This was bared by Agriculture Secretary William Dar, who said that the Philippines needs to utilize the abundant rainfall it receives yearly.

“We all know that we have abundant rainfall and if we will not impound that water, it would lead to other problems in the lowland areas,” Dar said.

According to him, the Philippines annually receives about 2,400 millimeters (mm) of rainfall, one of the world’s highest, however, we only harvest six percent of that rainfall.

“While India has only an average of 700 mm of rain annually, they harvest 60 percent of that. They also lack water during the dry season. That is how important it is for them to harvest much of their rain,” Dar explained.

He said that the provinces in the Philippines are encountering the same problem on water availability since according to studies, Benguet and some parts now of Cordillera have gone beyond the carrying capacity of the natural ecosystems due to human activities.

Dar added that while the government wants farming to succeed, it also needs to see to it that the carrying capacity of the ecosystem is observed.

Although the agriculture chief mentioned rainwater harvesting as a solution to water scarcity, he stressed that it is important to identify now the areas for agriculture and areas for re-vegetation or reforestation.

“The long-term measure is comprehensive land use at the provincial and municipal levels,” said Dar, who mentioned that prior to becoming the agriculture secretary, rainwater harvesting has been his advocacy.