ISABELA- Farmers are forced to shift to cassava planting to make up for losses in corn planting brought about by the dry spell.

The provincial agriculture office recommends planting cassava as an alternative to corn and rice since cassava can thrive even with little amount of water. Farmers can also start with a small capital.

The dry spell in Isabela has already caused P1 billion in damage to the corn industry and more than P9 million in damage to rice farmers.

For a hectare of land, P10,000 would be enough to yield up to 10 tons of cassava in nine months. Profit can be more than P80,000 for every 10 tons since a kilogram of cassava is sold at around P9.50.

There are now almost 3,000 hectares of cassava plantations in Ilagan City.

"Nakita ng mga farmers na profitable ang mga idle lands dito considering na if you plant cassava for two years, hindi ka pa magfe-fertilize. Simple lang ang technology and available ang planting materials," city agriculturist Moises Alamo said.

(The farmers saw that idle lands can be profitable considering that if you plant cassava for two years, there is no need for fertilizers. The technology is simple and planting materials are available.)

Alamo urged other farmers to plant cassava rather than to suffer from losses or be idle.

A state of calamity was declared in Isabela amid the dry spell. --with reports from Ivan Ismael Trinidad Abille, ABS-CBN News