NEWSFLASH

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ILOCOS CROPS RUINED BY DRY SPELL

Vigan, Ilocos Sur, Nov. 6, 1997 - Thousands of hectares of rice farms in the Ilocos Region are slowly drying out, their crops wilted and useless as a result of the dry spell brought about by the El Nino phenomenon.

Department of Agriculture assistant director Manuel Vasquez says the towns heavily affected are: Magsingal, Ilocos Sur and the Ilocos Norte towns of Badoc, Paoay and Currimao. In Pangasinan, 115 hectares of rice farms in five barangays of Binalonan have dried out, forcing farmers to uproot the rice plants and plant corn instead. La Union's rice yield has dropped by at least 14 cavans per hectare.

The Department of Agriculture is urging farmers to use the little moisture still left in the fields to plant mongo, corn, peanuts and other easily-maturing crops.

Director Vasquez said his office is expecting more reports on damaged farm lands in Northern Luzon, as the Department of Agriculture's cloud-seeding operations have been hampered by lack of clouds.

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