The National Irrigation Authority on Wednesday remains positive on the rice output in the country despite the looming effects of the El Niño phenomenon which is forecasted to persist until the second quarter of 2024.

NIA administrator Engr. Eduardo Guillen told DAILY TRIBUNE that the country’s rice yield is higher when it’s sunny, adding that they remain optimistic that the estimated volume of rice that may be affected during the onset of the El Niño will be lower.

“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed us to give the high-yielding varieties to the NIA so that we can plant those that we can irrigate,” Guillen said.

“Because the inbred ones, if the yield is only four tons... times two, it’s eight tons already. We estimate that 20 percent will be affected by El Niño, but if that 20 percent… and what you planted immediately increases its yield to 50 percent, our production will definitely not decrease,” he added.

The NIA official also cited that last year, despite being troubled by simultaneous typhoons, the country recorded an increase in rice harvest due to cultivation of high-yielding varieties during the dry season.

“We prefer sunny weather so that our rice yield will be higher,” he added.

Meanwhile, Guillen said that NIA is already implementing alternative wetting and drying technology to increase around 20 to 30 percent of their irrigation systems in Central Luzon.

He also disclosed that farmlands that are not able to be reached by the agency’s tail-end services have already planted high-yielding varieties of rice.

“The Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare and Development also aid us in helping our affected farmers. All our farmers receive assistance,” he said.