Agricultural losses arising from the El Niño dry spell came close to breaching the P1-billion mark on Thursday.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, damage to agriculture stood at P941,730,702.01, affecting 16,709 farmers and fishermen and 14,854.86 hectares of crops.

Region 6, or the Western Visayas, continued to be the most affected area, registering production losses amounting to P564,056,192.48. It also had the most agricultural workers affected with 11,662 spread over 1,055 hectares.

MIMAROPA (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) ranked second with P319,755,957 in total losses, followed by CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon and Lucena) with P2,750,947.

Zamboanga Peninsula, on the other hand, incurred P717,527 in value losses, and the Ilocos Region tallied losses of P54,450,077.

Water supply interruptions were also recorded in the Western Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula.

On Monday, a state of calamity was declared in the municipality of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro with its cracked farmlands and dried-up rivers.

The town of Looc in Occidental Mindoro, likewise, has called for assistance with their dried farmlands and withered produce.