To mitigate the adverse effects of El Niño on the harvests of Filipino farmers, the Department of Agriculture conducted several cloud seeding operations in drought-stricken areas of Cagayan Valley.

According to a DA key official, the cloud seeding operation in Region 2 has been conducted since Sunday, 25 February 2024, and is continuous.

"Actually, yung seedable clouds ay bumagsak na siya doon sa areas na target din namin na iligtas, lalo na yung mga corn areas namin na sa vegatative to reproductive stages doon sa municipalities ng Cagayan, halimbawa sa Iguig, Enrile, and Tuguegarao City,” Rosemary Aquino, PhD, the regional technical director for research and regulations of DA Region 2, told the DAILY TRIBUNE.

(Actually, the seedable clouds have already fallen in the areas that we also target to save, especially our corn areas that are in the vegetative to reproductive stages in the municipalities of Cagayan, for example in Iguig, Enrile, and Tuguegarao City.)

Moreover, cloud seeding operations were also held in Sto. Tomas, Sta. Maria, Ilagan City; Benito Soliven in Isabela; and Villaros, Bagabag, in Nueva Vizcaya.

Aquino said that they have detected seedable clouds in the mentioned areas and took the chance to conduct a scattering of sodium chloride to induce an artificial rainfall.

“Hindi naman kami nag fail kasi yung mga seedable clouds na yun ay nag succeed kami kasi tumama talaga siya sa mga lugar kung saan kailangan talaga ng amount of rainfall, although yung bumagsak na rainfall ay nasa light to moderate,” adding that light to moderate rains in some areas in the region have been felt since the cloud seeding operations started.

(We didn't fail because of those seedable clouds; we succeeded because they hit the places where the amount of rainfall was needed, although the rainfall that fell was light to moderate.)

Aquino noted that the DA target is to conduct 75 sorties, equivalent to P7.9 million in contract with the Philippine Air Force, working with the Bureau of Soils and Water Management.

“Kung may makita pa kaming seedable clouds ay lalagyan at lalagyan pa yan ng sodium chloride,” she said.

(If we see any more seedable clouds, they will be filled with sodium chloride.)

She added that currently, only one plane from PAF is conducting the cloud seeding operation and carries about 15 to 20 kilos of table salt per flight.

"Approximately, that's equivalent to P70,000 per flight,” she noted, saying that if more seedable clouds are seen, the number of planes from PAF to be used in the operations can increase.

Aquino said that cloud seeding operations in the area will continue; however, she noted that the determining factor is the availability of seedable clouds.

The DA Regional Field Office in Cagayan Valley shared on Tuesday a video of a plane taking off from the ground, followed by a clip where a man can be seen preparing sodium chloride for dispersal into the clouds. The last clip shows a video of a garden with pouring rain.