Another round of cloud seeding is expected to be set and conducted over various towns across Bohol in efforts to augment insufficient water supply from dams which will be used for irrigation as farmers start to plant crops.

A resolution requesting the cloud seeding operation was forwarded to the provincial government through the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, said National Irrigation Administration-7 official Engr. William Butron, who also heads the Bohol Integrated Irrigation System (BIIS).

According to Butron, it is imperative that rice paddies do not lose water supply as many farmers in Bohol have already started to plant crops.

Dams in the province, particularly Malinao Dam in Pilar, are low on water supply as a result of the El Niño phenomenon which plagued Bohol for several months and the continued lack of rains.

It was only in the previous month that water supply in Malinao Dam was operational level for irrigation, but it was almost depleted after it let out water to irrigate nearby rice paddies.

Butron is optimistic that the request for the creation of artificial rain will be approved soon as he noted that the flight hours of the plane used during the previous cloud seeding operation were not used up.

The BIIS is concerned that paddies in Bohol will not be adequately irrigated adversely affecting the growth of crops. (Allen Doydora)