In Palawan, El Niño crop damage reaches P1B

BARREN LAND The parched farmland in the town of Brooke’s Point in the southern part of Palawan, as shown in this photo taken on Monday, reveals the devastation of the El Niño weather phenomenon. The municipality is among the four areas in the province that had been placed under a state of calamity. —Geraldford Ticke

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, PALAWAN, Philippines — The prolonged dry spell and drought accompanying the El Niño weather phenomenon continued to wreak havoc on Palawan province, leaving close to P1 billion in agricultural damage so far, officials said on Monday.

According to the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), the towns of Balabac, Brooke’s Point, El Nido and San Vicente had already been placed under a state of calamity, with six other towns reporting significant farm damage due to the intense heat.

The Palawan provincial board has also been contemplating a state of calamity declaration covering the province’s 23 towns and one city to mitigate the effects of El Niño, particularly on the agriculture sector, according to Board Member Ariston Arzaga, chair of the committee on agriculture.

READ: DA: Agriculture damage due to El Niño hits P6.3 billion

Evaluation

In an interview on Monday, Arzaga said the provincial board was still waiting for relevant documents from concerned local government offices to back up the state of calamity declaration.

Earlier, Board Member Ryan Maminta, chair of the committee on disaster preparedness, had called on the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council (PDRRMC) to conduct a rapid damage assessment and damage analysis in agricultural areas that are affected by the drought.

Arzaga said the OPA already made an initial evaluation based on reports submitted by the municipal agriculture offices through the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Information System.

Aside from the four towns that are now under the state of calamity, the municipal governments of Araceli, Bataraza, Busuanga, Coron, Quezon, Rizal, Sofronio Española and Roxas had submitted their reports to the OPA, relaying the damage to their farms.

Citing an initial report from OPA, Arzaga said around 9,537 hectares of agricultural land, mostly plantations of rice, corn, cassava, vegetables and other high-value crops, had been affected by the drought in these areas.

He said a total of 8,942 farmers had already been reeling from the effects of El Niño, and many of whom were rice farmers.

Data also showed that more than 29,192 metric tons of agricultural products had been lost to the intense heat.

“The total cost of damage to rice [farms] alone amounts to P934,479,829. In total, including other crops, the amount of damage has reached P955,929,918.5. So almost P1 billion,” Arzaga said.

He added: “The data will be further assessed by the PDRRMC for consideration of declaring a state of calamity. But of course, whether there is a state of calamity or none, we really need to extend support to our affected farmers.”

Assistance

As early as January this year, the PDRRMC had convened and discussed contingency measures in anticipation of the widespread devastation that would be caused by El Niño.

“That’s why we already need to declare a state of calamity in order for us to utilize our contingency funds. What we need now is the recommendation from the PDRRMC for our consideration,” Arzaga explained.

Romeo Cabungcal, provincial agriculturist, said they had recommended several actions for the provincial government to take, even before some municipalities declared a state of calamity.

“We will distribute assistance to farmers and fishermen, including seaweed farmers, who have also been affected by the extreme heat that is being experienced in the province,” he said.

According to Cabungcal, they would also distribute fertilizers and vegetable seeds and provide necessary technical support for the rehabilitation of small water impounding projects that are critical for the farmers to help them start again.