El Niño damage to agriculture rises to P810M — NDRRMC

The cost of damage to agriculture due to the effects of El Niño phenomenon has increased to over P810 million, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Tuesday.

In its latest report, the NDRRMC said P810,711,612 worth of damage has been incurred as El Niño continued to ravage wide swaths of agricultural areas across the country.

Bulk of the cost of damage was reported in Western Visayas with P487,487,179, followed by Mimaropa with P319,755,957, Calabarzon with P2,750,947, and Zamboanga Region with P717,527.

A total of 13,326 farmers and fishermen, as well as 12,493 hectares of crops, have been affected, according to NDRRMC.

Six barangays in Himamaylan, Negros Occidental have reported shortages of water for drinking and agricultural use since December 2023.

Meanwhile, Zamboanga City implemented a rationing scheme in its west coast and central areas amid limited water supply.

State weather bureau PAGASA declared the start of the El Niño phenomenon on July 4 last year.

The El Niño phenomenon is characterized by the abnormal warming of sea surface temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean leading to below normal rainfall.

Recently, PAGASA said the mature stage of the El Niño phenomenon was seen to end this February, but its effects would still be experienced as it gradually decays around the March-April-May period.

The weather bureau also reported earlier that the number of provinces affected by El Niño decreased to 41 from 50.

Among the affected provinces, drought was still being experienced in Apayao, Benguet, Cagayan, Cavite, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Kalinga, La Union, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, and Pangasinan.

PAGASA defines drought as having three consecutive months of way below normal rainfall conditions, with over 60% reduction from the average rainfall.

It could also be five consecutive months of below normal rainfall conditions with 21% to 60% reduction from the average rainfall. — VDV, GMA Integrated News