Law requiring landowners to plant trees in riverbanks needed

DAVAO CITY, Feb 9 (PIA) A city councilor mulled of crafting a law that will require land owners to plant El Nino resilient trees in the long run.

Councilor Marissa Abella, chair of the committee on environment said some of the headwater areas are privately owned and the only guarantee to sustain the flow of water from these areas is planting of trees.

She said the proposed ordinance will compel landowners to plant and grow trees that can help in the absorption of water down to the aquifer.

“Trees are needed to ensure that the aquifer will be deposited with water,” Abella said.

Momentarily, she said that the city government must assist the Department of Agriculture in pointing areas that have been hardest hit by the long dry-spell.

She said the city government needs to identify these areas and then relay the information to the DA which has the funds to handle cloud seeding operations.

Abella said that one of the possibilities that the city government can do to cope with the El Nino phenomenon is the provision of water pumps from the rivers for distribution of water to the farmers.

She also suggested the need to study more heat-resilient crops like the jackfruit-like crop called culo, which can withstand the warm weather condition.

Abella said the crop tastes like banana when cooked.

“It can serve as alternative for corn,” she said.

Abella also encouraged farmers to plant Abaca, the only commercial crop that can withstand the drought.  (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)