The damage and losses to the country's agriculture caused by the onslaught of El Niño are now estimated at P3.94 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Based on DA's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operations Center Bulletin No. 07 issued on Tuesday but only posted on Friday, the agriculture volume loss is now at 162,793 metric tons (MT), affecting 73,713 farmers and fishermen and affecting 66,065 hectares of crop areas, of which 15,281 hectares, or 23.13 percent, have no chance of recovery.
Rice crops incurred the biggest damage and losses amounting to P2.36 billion from the volume loss of 98,243 metric tons, affecting 43,659 hectares of crop areas.
The provinces of Palawan and Iloilo remained to have registered the highest losses, valued between P400 million and P500 million.
Corn, on the other hand, had a volume loss of 40,195 metric tons worth P669.44 million.
Affected areas were noted to be 18,201 hectares, with 1,055 hectares, or 5.80 percent, of the areas unrecoverable.
Isabela and Occidental Mindoro had the biggest production losses, valued between P100 million and P200 million.
Meanwhile, 4,199 hectares of high value crop planted area were registered to be El-Nino affected, with a 24,102 metric tons of volume loss worth P868.84 million.
The provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro were the most affected areas, with estimated value losses of between P200 million and P400 million.
The fisheries sector also incurred P33.83 million worth of production losses, affecting 2,261 fishermen.
This includes losses to fish species such as tilapia, carp, milkfish, shrimp, catfish, seaweeds, and sea urchins.
Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan had the biggest value loss, between P9 million and P12 million.
Moreover, livestock and poultry have registered a loss of 102 heads valued at over P6.95 million, mostly affecting the areas of Occidental Mindoro and Palawan, with an estimated value loss of between P3 million and P4 million.
Lastly, the local cassava output also posed 38 metric tons of volume loss worth more than P497,000.
Six hectares of the area was affected, all without a chance of recovery.
Based on DA DRRM's report, most of the cassava damages were registered in Palawan, with a value loss of between P300,00 and P400,000.
Assistance worth P1.09 billion was provided to the affected farmers, said the DA.
This includes cloud-seeding operations, distribution of water pumps, improvement of irrigation canals, distribution of native animals, provision of diversified alternative livelihoods and technologies to fisherfolk, issuance of Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation indemnification, and provision of farm inputs and financial assistance.
