With the possibility of a water crisis amid the ongoing strong El Niño, the Department of Agriculture Region 2, or Cagayan Valley, is currently examining cloud seeding as an intervention to ensure agricultural productivity despite the weather phenomenon.

In the interview, DA Region 2 Regional Technical Director for Operations and Extension, Dr. Roberto Busania, said that they plan to do the cloud seeding next month to irrigate corn and rice farmlands and that the initial budget allocated for the operation is P5 to P7 million pesos.

Busania said there are cloud experts who will assess if the cloud seeding plan in the target areas can be executed.

DA Region 2 is collaborating with the National Irrigation Administration, the Municipal Agriculturists, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Service Administration in guiding the farmers on weather conditions and mitigating the effects of El Niño.

Cloud seeding, as defined by the US Desert Research Institute, is a weather modification technique that improves a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow by introducing tiny ice nuclei into certain types of subfreezing clouds.

According to the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, cloud seeding operations have helped save immeasurable amounts of crops from destruction, especially during dry spells and droughts

Region 2 is composed of five provinces: the Cagayan Valley, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, and Batanes.