In Dumaguete City, the looming threat of a major eruption from Mt. Kanlaon has put over 16,000 farmers across Negros Island on high alert. According to Engineer Albert Barogo, the regional executive director of the Department of Agriculture-Negros Island Region (DA-NIR), the agency has been actively gathering data on farmers who might be displaced by such an event to ensure they receive necessary support.
The data collected indicates that 7,171 farmers in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, and an additional 8,841 from La Carlota City, La Castellana, Bago City, and Murcia are at risk. These figures are derived from the DA’s Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA), which has been cross-checked by local government units.
Barogo emphasized that the DA is making provisions for farmers not yet registered in the RSBSA, allowing them to sign up post-disaster. However, he noted that currently, no aid can be distributed to these farmers as they are barred from returning to their homes and farms within the volcano’s permanent danger zone.
In response to the potential crisis, the DA-NIR is preparing to propose a post-disaster rehabilitation program to the central office, seeking funding from the agency’s PHP1-billion Quick Response Fund. The proposed interventions include providing seeds, fertilizers, and livestock, along with support for alternative livelihoods and infrastructure development like farm-to-market roads.