MALASIQUI: Ilocos Region incurred nearly PHP152 million agricultural damage as of end-April due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
In an interview on Tuesday, DA-Ilocos information officer Vida Cacal said bulk of the damage is accounted for by corn, PHP78.8 million, followed by rice, PHP53.9 million, and high value crops, PHP19.1 million.
A total of 3,141.9 hectares have been affected by drought, involving 5,968 farmers in the entire region, she said.
Ilocos Norte suffered the largest damage at PHP80.5 million. Specifically, damage in corn reached PHP39.2 million followed by rice, PHP26.4 million, and high value crops, PHP14.9 million.
Pangasinan followed at PHP61.8 million, with PHP34.3 million in corn, PHP27.5 million in rice, but none in high-value crops.
Ilocos Sur recorded PHP5.5 million, with PHP5.3 million in corn, PHP200,000 in high-value crops, but zero in rice.
La Union posted PHP4 million damage in high-value crops, PHP25,000 in corn, but zero f
or rice.
Amidst this development, Vida said the damage covered only 1 percent of the total 519,000 hectares of agricultural land in the entire region.
The DA is in close coordination with other government agencies to help cushion the impact of the dry spell on the agriculture and fisheries sector.
Vida said they have distributed seeds, fungicide, and insecticide as well as farm animals as alternative source of income for the affected farmers and water pumps to qualified farm associations.
She said the affected farmers will also receive cash assistance but she declined to give specifics as DA continues to gather documentary requirement from the affected farmers.
An information caravan will also be held on May 15 at the La Union Convention Center in San Fernando City, La Union, expected to be attended by over 500 fishermen and fisherfolk from the region.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has distributed more than 643 water pumps in vulnerable areas in Pangasinan, and has utilized around half of
the PHP1 billion budget allotted for the province for this year under the solar water irrigation systems.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has also distributed cash assistance to affected farmers in the different localities in the region.
Citing reports from the weather bureau, Vida said the El Niño phenomenon is weakening but the probability of La Niña is there.
‘We have two distinct seasons –the dry and wet season. But with the phenomena, these seasons are prolonged. So, we have placed interventions although these (interventions) are almost similar to what we do depending on the season,’ she added in Filipino.
On Jan. 19, 2024, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 53 to streamline, reactivate, and reconstitute the old El Niño Task Force under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019).
Under EO No. 53, the President instructed the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to
provide ‘systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions’ to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects.
Source: Philippines News Agency
