MANILA, Philippines — The agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon has already reached P6.3 billion, Department of Agriculture spokesperson Arnel De Mesa said on Saturday.
“Naglabas kami kahapon ng latest bulletin sa El Niño. Ang latest damage now is P6.3 billion, pinakamalaki pa rin sa sektor ng palayan at P3.3 billion. Ang ating maisan ay P1.9 billion, at ang ating high-value commercial crops ay P1 billion,” De Mesa said at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
(We released the latest bulletin on El Niño yesterday. The latest damage now is P6.3 billion, still highest is the rice sector at P3.3 billion. Our corn crops are at P1.9 billion, and our high-value commercial crops are at P1 billion.)
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The highest reported damage was in Mimaropa with P1.7 billion, followed by Western Visayas with P1.5 billion, and the Cordillera Administrative Region with almost P800 million.
De Mesa noted that 60,000 hectares of land were damaged by the El Niño so far, which is half of the 120,000 hectares projected by the DA.
“‘Yung huling nilabas din na report ng PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority), 100,000 metric tons ‘yung naging reduction sa production ng palay in the first quarter, which is similar dito…’yung projection namin is 134,000 metric tons,” he added.
(The latest report from the PSA also showed a reduction of 100,000 metric tons in rice production in the first quarter, which is similar to our projection of 134,000 metric tons.)
While the circumstances are less than ideal, De Mesa said the figure is relatively smaller compared to the estimated 500 to 600 metric tons of reduced rice production whenever a typhoon hits the country.
“Nagkaroon ng effectivity ‘yung mga interventions na ginawa natin at isa pa rin naman is… ‘pag may El Niño talagang very minimal o walang bagyo na dumadaan,” he said.
(The interventions we implemented have become effective, and another factor is… during El Niño, there are usually very minimal or no typhoons passing through.)