Agriculture damage due to El Niño hits P9.5B

The damage and losses sustained by the country’s agriculture sector has reached nearly P10 billion as of the middle of this month, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Tuesday.

Citing the latest El Niño report as of 12 noon of May 16, 2024, the DA said the damage to agriculture due to the weather phenomenon reached P9.5 billion.

El Niño affected 163,694 hectares of agricultural areas in 13 regions, including Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, MIMAROPA, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Central Mindanao, Davao Region, and Soccsksargen.

The number of affected farmers and fisherfolk stood at 175,063.

In terms of volume, damaged crops reached 426,798 metric tons (MT), of which 185,561 MT are for palay, 180,807 MT for corn, 48,949 MT for high value crops and 147 MT for cassava.

The increase in reported values includes additional reports from Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Central Mindanao, Davao and Soccsksargen regions. 

“The affected rice area of 83,862 hectares is 3.91% of the total target area planted of 2,137,046.77 hectares, while the production loss of 185,561 MT is equivalent to around 2.01% of the target production of 9,218,358.28 MT, both for the dry cropping season this 2024,” the DA said.

“As for corn, area affected by the dry spell is at 66,950 hectares or 6.08% of the total target area planted of 1,101,695.90 hectares, while the production loss of 180,807 MT is 4.02% of target production of 4,493,026.90 MT, both for the dry cropping season this 2024,” it said.

The DA said it has provided the following interventions worth P9.71 billion  to affected farmers and fisherfolk:

• Financial assistance totaling P8.59 billion through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) nationwide
• P658.22 million worth of assistance for production support (agri-inputs, fertilizers, planting materials, pumps and engines, HDPE hose, drugs and biologics) provided by DA Regional Field Offices
• In Mimaropa, various forms of assistance were distributed, including P8 million worth of rice machineries and equipment from DA-PHilMech, P77.50 million worth of Survival and Recovery (SURE) Aid Loan from Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), P5.19 million worth of coconut seedlings distributed by PCA, P65.35 million worth of composting facilities from the DA Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), P294.46 million worth of irrigation projects from the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and 8.99 million worth of marine machineries and equipment in the same region
• On-going conduct of cloud seeding operations in collaboration with DOST-PAGASA and DND-PAF in Southern Cagayan, Northern Isabela, Quirino corn areas, and Magat Reservoir in Region II
• Installed 616 water pumps to enhance water supply in Regions I, II, III, IV-B, VI, VII, and XI
• Concreted 847.8 kilometers of irrigation canals to enhance water distribution in agricultural areas nationwide
• Desilted 3,167.9 kilometers of irrigation canals to improve water flow throughout the country
• Distributed 66,039 native animals to 367 groups and 604 individual farmers through the Philippine Native Animal Development (PNAD) Program nationwide
• Provided 111 diversified alternative livelihoods and technologies to fisherfolk to mitigate potential losses in CAR, Regions V, VII, and IX.

“The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation has also indemnified farmers in CAR, Region I, II, III, IV-A, IV-B, VI, VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII with a total amount of P176.52 million,” the DA said.—LDF, GMA Integrated News