DA pilots Sorsogon with automatic weather stations to enhance agricultural productivity

By Irma A. Guhit

SORSOGON CITY, Feb. 10 (PIA)…… The very erratic weather condition here in the province of Sorsogon has been one of the reasons why farmers complain of the effect of the weather condition in their agricultural productivity hence the Department of Agriculture has made the province as one of its pilot areas for automatic weather stations to stabilize agricultural outputs.

Farmers who rely on the weather condition provided daily through the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) said that the agency only provides a general weather report everyday of the country and not the local weather condition of every province / municipality which is very different from the general weather condition in their area.

Farmers say that specifically here in the province of Sorsogon, the weather in the lowlands is so different from the weather in areas with higher elevation or  in the uplands and more so in areas near the sea.

The real weather condition or certain areas here has been a determinant of agricultural productivity hence their planting of crops have been greatly affected due to the climatic change and the land topography of the place.

Another reason according to the farmers here is the climate change which has greatly affected the time for crop planting since before they have established only two weather conditions here, the dry and wet season where specific months fall but this time adverse weather conditions here have been observed as an effect of climate change.

The Department of Agriculture, sensitive to the concerns of the farmers and of people who rely in agriculture as their main source of livelihood has provided here in the province several equipments that local people can observe, track and record as to differences of weather and adapt their planting season based on the data observed.

Automatic weather stations have been installed in the towns of  Juban, Barcelona and one in the Sorsogon Provincial Disaster Risk  Management Office (SPDRMO) and in the city of Sorsogon that now have become a useful source of agricultural crop adaptation.

All local government units here have also installed their own rain gauges placed in highly vulnerable areas where rainfall has to be recorded and observed as a guide to agricultural planting season and to establish precautionary measures. 

The automatic weather stations here installed according to Maria Theresa Destura, Ph.D. assistant provincial agriculturist has provided farmers the ability to adapt to certain weather conditions to improve their agricultural systematized scheduling of farming and become a mechanism for enhanced weather awareness for adaptation and mitigation.

Destura said that through the automatic weather stations, farmers can now have a more accurate information on rainfall, temperature, and sunlight to plan their planting schedules and to avoid extreme weather conditions.

Destura also said that the accessible data on the weather had guide farmers to lessen the risks against climate change, create resiliency and plan better when to plant and when to harvest.

Sorsogon is a province that faces the Pacific Ocean and known as a typhoon path that according to Destura should be provided the needed intervention when it comes to farmers' concern as they are our source of our food everyday.. (PIA-SORSOGON)