Pag-Asa sees rainy days to stay longer in Samar; farmers fear ruin of crops
By Ninfa B Quirante
Catbalogan City (January 22) -- Pag-Asa here in Catbalogan City said that the rainy season is likely to linger for a longer period of time with the steady downpour since last week.
Weatherman Ed dela Cruz said that the two weather systems: the tail end of the cold front and Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) responsible for the rainy seasons being experienced by the eastern part of the country.
He added that another low pressure area is also aggravating the weather condition.
Pag-Asa said it was able to record a weekly rainfall of 120.8 mm and a 24-hour rainfall of 21.6mm. If the weather system goes on like this for sometime, dela Cruz said that this could usher a La Nina Phenomenon that is surely to affect the Pacific Equatorial Region.
Farmers are worried that the newly planted rice might receive more than the needed water and may instead ruin the crops.
Presently, Samar is worried that the cheapest rice in the market will be depleted. Long lines in the Bigasan ng Palengke has been noted in the Catbalogan Public Market last week.
NFA said that the expected stocks for the first quarter has not yet arrived, thus the regulated sale of the cheap rice.
In the Bigasan ng Bayan, each buyer is only sold two kilos of rice, the vendor assigned said that this is done so that many Catbaloganons will be given the chance to buy the cheap rice.
Today's news though brought hope when NFA said that more rice has been delivered to Bigasan Operators.
Instead of one Bigasan ng Palengke alone to serve the long queue, Catbalogan public market now has four NFA outlets. Stocks though are not sure to last for more than a month. (PIA-Samar) [top]
