BACOLOD CITY: Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday that now is a good time for cloud seeding operations, especially in sugar plantations. Lacson's statement comes after Fifth District Rep. Emilio Yulo urged the Department of Agriculture, Sugar Regulatory Administration, and the provincial government to conduct cloud seeding in the sugar plantations in the province. 'That is always an option when we have a long drought. We always request for cloud seeding,' Lacson pointed out. Yulo, in a statement on Sunday, urged the concerned government agencies to prepare for eventual cloud seeding amid extreme heat recently. 'We are in the middle of planting and cultivation, particularly in the sugar industry, and getting this extreme heat and probably a dry spell in the coming weeks will have a drastic effect on our agriculture,' Yulo said. Yulo said that efforts are being made to ensure the sugar industry increases its productivity after a lower output in the last crop year than in the past. 'We need to make sure that these efforts will not go to waste because we are not prepared to combat the effects of a dry spell, which is totally beyond the control of our farmers,' Yulo said.
