Farmlands in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro are drying up due to a prolonged dry spell triggered by the El Niño phenomenon as seen on this photo from the Bulalacao local government posted on Facebook on February 28, 2024.
An El Niño report from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) issued at 8 a.m. on Wednesday identified the town of Bulalacao as the first municipality this year which declared a state of calamity due to the climate phenomenon.
According to the Bulalacao Public Information Office, the local government unit (LGU) declared a state of calamity on Feb. 26 due to a prolonged drought which severely affected farmers.
In a post on Facebook, the LGU said that so far, the dry spell has affected around 1,148 onion and rice farmers tilling some 1,059 hectares of farmland.
“Due to the lack of water supply, the quality and quantity of rice, onions, and other staple crops were affected,” the post read.
It added that the local government is already in talks with the Department of Agriculture regarding the aid that they will provide to the town’s farmers.
In the same report, the NDRRMC further said that so far, the dry spell has resulted in agricultural losses of up to P865,161,689 across the Ilocos, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula regions.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said in its latest El Niño advisory on Feb. 6 that a strong El Niño is ongoing and is expected to continue throughout this month.
It will, however, transition to El Niño Southern Oscillation(Enso)-neutral conditions in April to June this year.
Enso-neutral refers to meteorological conditions that are neither El Niño nor La Niña.