P590M worth of crops lost to dry spell in North Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Some P590 Million worth of crops have been damaged by the drought in North Cotabato as the province has not experienced a heavy downpour since January, agriculture officials said.

Engr. Eliseo Mangliwan, North Cotabato provincial agriculture officer, said that as of Friday , the cost of damage to high value crops, including rice and corn, has reached more than P500 million.

North Cotabato provincial board member Loreto Cabaya, chair of the Sangguniang Panglungsod committee on agriculture, said most of the damaged crops were beyond recovery.

He said crops with the chance of recovering from the dry spell could be hit by grass fire.

“Even banana and rubber plantations, which are supposed to be heat-resistant, have been affected,” Cabaya said.

Mangliwan said more than 2,400 hectares of rice and 22,000 hectares of corn have been destroyed by the absence of rain.

The water supply in various irrigation systems have also dwindled, some even dried up.

More than 7,000 farmers in North Cotabato’s 17 towns and a city have been affected.

Aside from agricultural crops, the drought also resulted in the deaths of a dozen hogs due to heat stroke in Kidapawan City, the city veterinary office reported.

The local government of Mlang and Kabacan, also placed the towns under state of calamity due to the drought. SFM/AC