South Cotabato town under state of calamity amid El Niño onslaught

A town in South Cotabato was put under a state of calamity due to the significant agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon.

In Resolution No. 163 Series of 2024 issued by the Sangguniang Bayan of Surallah, the said area was put under the condition, citing reports from its Office of the Municipal Agriculturist registering a production loss worth P71,780,110.80 as of 31 March 2024.

Affected farmers are now tallied at 1,178, damaging 999 hectares of agriculture and fisheries area.

Moreover, nine barangays of the said municipality are identified as being under the State of Calamity due to prolonged dry spells, namely Buenavista, Canahay, Centrala, Dajay, Duengas, Lamian, Little Baguio, Talahik, and Upper Sepaka.

As of 1 April 2024, overall agricultural damage in the country worth P2.63 billion due to El Niño has been recorded by the Department of Agriculture (DA), with the volume loss estimated to be over 116,000 metric tons.

The government said that almost P1.1 billion worth of assistance has already been extended to affected people, which includes financial and gas assistance, food packs, and farm inputs for rehabilitating damaged farmlands.

The Task Force El Niño said last week that the critical effects of the weather phenomena may persist until the end of May, despite peaking in February.