El Niño agri damage now pegged at P6.3B

WITHERED Rice fields in the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are withered amid the absence of heavy rain in the region due to the El Niño weather phenomenon. PHOTO COURTESY OF OFFICE OF CIVIL DEFENSE-BARMM

MANILA, Philippines — The agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon has already reached P6.3 billion, Department of Agriculture (DA) spokesperson Arnel De Mesa said on Saturday.

“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,” he said.

READ: Agriculture losses due to El Niño hit P4B

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.

“The latest report 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,” he said.

While the circumstances are less than ideal, De Mesa said the figure was relatively smaller compared to the estimated 500 to 600 metric tons of reduced rice production whenever a typhoon hits the country. —LUISA CABATO