Farmer’s hope withers as prolonged dry spell cracks Isabela soil

MANILA, Philippines — A 55-year-old farmer Eddie Matute stood on the edge of his rice field on the evening of Saturday, July 11, as several hectares of land began to crack due to the prolonged dry spell gripping Isabela and much of Northern Luzon. For Matute, a resident of Barangay Callao, Alicia, Isabela, who has