Western Visayas El Niño agricultural damage now P770.5 million

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Damage to agriculture in Western Visayas due to El Niño has increased to P770.5 million as of April 1, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

The OCD said more than 20,000 farmers have been affected by drought.

Despite the losses, OCD-Western Visayas regional office head Raul Fernandez said the criteria to declare a state of calamity due to El Niño in affected areas have not been met.

Fernandez said Iloilo province has been most affected, with losses amounting to P519 million, followed by Antique, P130 million; Negros Occidental, P78 million; Aklan, P30 million, and Capiz, P12 million.

There was no reported damage to agriculture in Guimaras.

Fernandez said water supply in Western Visayas remains stable, except in Himamaylan City, where water rationing has started in some barangays.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has released more than P11 million in assistance to families affected by El Niño in the region.

DSWD-Western Visayas regional director Carmelo Nochete said the assistance was released through the implementation of food-for-work and food-for-training programs from January to March.

Up to 5,460 food packs worth more than P3.1 million were distributed to beneficiaries of the food-for-training program.

Nochete said the training gave basic knowledge in handling evacuation centers during emergencies and calamities as well as the importance of disaster response operations monitoring and information center in reporting disaster-related incidents.

At least 1,893 food-for-work beneficiaries received more than P7.9 million for the work they rendered, which included clearing and rehabilitation of roads and canals.