The Cebu City government is assessing the situation at farms in its mountain barangays amid the fuel crisis and the effects of the entry of the dry season.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, head of the City Council’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management, Safety, and Climate Change Adaption, said this is important so that the city can provide the right assistance to farmers after Mayor Nestor Archival said he would want the city placed under a state of calamity. 

The city’s agriculture office is leading the assessment with other stakeholders.

“Mangayo sa ta’g data sa Department of Agriculture para atong matino ug atong ma-justify ngadto sa mga tawo kung angayan ba gyud sila’ng mahatagan og tabang ug unsa sang matanga sa tabang,” Tumulak said.

Among the areas of concern the city is looking into is the effect and extent of damage of the skyrocketing fuel prices to farms and farmers.

The mayor saw that vegetables harvested at farms in the city have rotten because sales have decreased.

In fact, vendors at the Carbon Market have already reduced the prices of vegetables.

Aside from this, the city is also preparing interventions for the effects of the intense heat to farmlands.

As of this writing, the soil at farms in the mountain barangays have started to dry up due to the intense heat.

Tumulak said the city still has enough funds it can use to help farmers, at least, as of this writing.