El Niño agri damage now over P1 billion, NDRRMC says

The damage to agriculture due to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon has already reached over P1 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Wednesday.

In its report, the NDRRMC said the total production loss and cost of damage in agriculture was estimated at P1,056,379,891.

Western Visayas reported the highest cost of agricultural damage with P678,705,381, followed by Mimaropa with P319,755,957, Ilocos with P54,450,077, Calabarzon with 2,750,947, and Zamboanga with P717,527.

A total of 23,086 farmers and fisherfolks as well as 17,718 hectares of crops were affected in the country due to El Niño.

Water shortage for drinking and agriculture have been reported in six barangays in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental since December 2023, the NDRRMC said.

Due to limited water supply, Zamboanga City also implemented a rationing scheme in its west coast and central areas.

A state of calamity was declared in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro as rivers and fields dried up and affected the water supply and crops in the town.

Financial assistance worth P362,564,850 has been provided to the affected individuals in Mimaropa so far, according to the NDRRMC.

State weather bureau PAGASA declared the start of the El Niño phenomenon on July 4 last year.

The El Niño phenomenon is characterized by the abnormal warming of sea surface temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean leading to below normal rainfall. — Joviland Rita/RSJ, GMA Integrated News