THE El Niño phenomenon has so far caused an estimated P5.9 billion in damage to Philippine agriculture, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday.
“‘Yung latest damage natin as of end of April per Bulletin No. 9 ng DA… is already PHP5.9 billion, pinakamalaki pa rin is sa rice sector,” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview.
This was followed by production loss in corn worth P1.76 billion and high-value crops pegged at P958 million.
De Mesa said the Mimaropa region remained the most affected area in the country at P1.71 billion, followed by Region 6 (Western Visayas) at P1.5 billion, the Cordilleras at P768 million, and Cagayan Valley at P562 million.
He, however, said the 58,000 hectares of rice production area damaged so far is only 2.27 percent of the country’s total area planted for rice, which is over 2 million hectares. The DA earlier projected around 120,000 hectares of damaged riceland before the onslaught of El Niño.
De Mesa said the early planning, rehabilitation and mitigation measures of the DA, particularly the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), helped ease the effects of the phenomenon.
To cushion its impacts on farmers and fishers, the DA has provided interventions worth PHP2.18 billion, De Mesa said.
These include the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) worth P1.065 billion; and P658 million worth of inputs such fertilizers, water pumps and engines that are being distributed through the DA regional field offices, he said.
The DA also provided P294.46 million worth of irrigation projects; P77.50 million worth of Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan; P67.93 million worth of indemnification or insurance benefits for farmers; and P65.35 million worth of composting facilities. (PNA)
