CLIMATE GOING HAYWIRE

Rains in March, long dry spell from June to August, cold days and nights from January to April when before it should have been October to January! These are only few of the phenomena that we are suffering from. We farmers are at our wits end because we planted according to cropping patterns we were familiar with for the last 20 years. Now suddenly our watermelons and mangoes were hit and we are losing millions of pesos.

Agricultural Technician Ramon Sacenal is a case in point. As a technician of the Office of the Provincial Agriculture Office, he knows his cropping patterns like the back of his hand. For years he is also a watermelon farmer, leasing rice land for the second crop (from October to May) to plant watermelons. He and his wife, a rice retailer co-invest in watermelons where Ramon takes out a low interest loan either from GSIS or from his cooperative. In previous years, this venture was highly profitable but this yer, he lost a lot of money. At the maximum fruiting stage in late January to mid-February this year, rains did not let up and severely damaged Ramon's crop where he expected a gross return of at least 5 times his investment. He followed up with a squash crop but again the rains did not stop so the squash plants were infested with mosaic disease that attacks when the air is humid and the leaves do not dry up at certain times of the day.

Mr. Sol Ahumada, another PAO technician, invested in his family's mango trees where he usually induces the flowers between November and December for a nice crop sometime in March or April. As usual, the flowers bloomed like crazy since Sol is the province's mango expert but since rains continued to fall in January to February, a major part of the fruits either fell or was attacked by both pests and diseases.

Sugarcane farmers meanwhile are rejoicing. Tonnage of their cane harvests is high but the purity or sweetness is affected. Nevertheless, they still enjoy a prosperous season mainly because of the price and demand for sugar. So does the rice and corn farmers. The availability of water has encouraged them to plant a relay crop without fear of water stress since even until now, rains fall regularly.

Marginal wetland farmers who plant a portion of their land to kangkong (Ipomea aquatica) as a daily source of income are happy these days too. Ordinarily, their kankong stands stop growing starting January but even this April, they continue to harvest daily because of the rains. Their income stream from kangkong is still regular.

This erratic climate creates confusion. It also makes people hesitate to invest especially in farming. For the big farmers, it may be okay to take the risk, but for the marginal ones, to invest in a crop may mean hunger for the family in the next few months.

Erratic weather also creates fear of flood in the case of La Nina and brush fires during El Nino. Typhoon Frank is a case in point. In just 48 hours, the volume of rains that poured into Iloilo Province and City was equal to the volume that could have poured in 30 days that resulted to a flood never experienced before.

Worse things are to come yet, according to scientists. The gravity of damage done to earth has caused major changes in the climate patterns where regular weather occurrences cannot be plotted anymore. Even nature has started to cope. Plants that normally thrive in wetland conditions have started to survive with the least moisture. The sweet potato variety that I plant for its leaves can already survive with the least watering although I have to contend with its smaller leaves and tougher stems. My upland kangkong grows vigorously in wet conditions. I have lost my fig bushes because of the wet soils but my other fruit trees are doing well with a more than ordinary soil moisture.

One has to cope with these drastic changes. Like the organisms, plants and animals that coped and survived since the age of the dinosaur, we have to adapt and make major changes. Climate change is here and like the old saying, nothing is permanent except change.