El Niño damage to top P15B

Losses from ‘mild’ dry spell placed at P9B

Potential losses of the agriculture sector from a prolonged dry spell are expected to increase in the coming months, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Emmanuel Paras over the weekend said that a “mild” El Niño the Philippines has been experiencing could cost the sector at least P15 billion.

Initial projection put the damage at P9 billion at most.

El Niño refers to the unusual warming of sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific that are usually characterized by below-average rainfall, which leads to a dry spell.

Losses from a tame El Niño, according to the Agriculture department, could reach P8 billion to P9 billion or 264, 940 metric tons of rice worth almost P4 billion and 174, 224 metric tons of corn valued at P2.26 billion.

The fisheries subsector could lose 21, 181 metric tons of catch worth P1.27 billion, while losses in the high value commercial crops (HVCC) sector could reach 3.17 million metric tons worth P583 million.

Paras said his department is projecting bigger losses as the country has yet to reach the dry season, which will start in March and last until May.

A “severe” dry spell, Paras said, could lead to P20.46 billion in losses to agriculture.

“The summer season is seen to be very critical since under normal circumstances, summer is really a dry period that could intensify further because of the El Niño phenomenon,” he added.

The Agriculture department said on Thursday the dry spell had so far damaged more than 200,000 metric tons of palay (unhusked rice), corn and other crops with a total value of P2.84 billion.

The El Niño phenomenon is expected to last until July this year.

With an initial budget of P882 million, the Agriculture department is poised to step up measures that will help small farmers and small fisherfolks cope with the adverse effects of El Niño.

The measures include alternative employment, rice subsidy, medicines and materials and fertilizers needed once the dry spell ends.

The national weather bureau, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, had reported that this year’s El Niño would likely be moderate. –Katrina Mennen A. Valdez, Manila Times