The El Niño phenomenon does not greatly affect the rice crops in the country, a Department of Agriculture (DA) official said Sunday.

DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said P20.4 million metric tons of rice are expected to be harvested this year compared to the P20.06 million metric tons harvested last year.

"This is because of our better seed varieties and also because of our interventions," De Mesa said in a radio program.

"The damage was not that big compared to what we expected. We've prepared for this through the advisories of PAGASA, and our coordination with NIA," he added.

The Agriculture officials have noted that the department's timely water management interventions mitigated the ill effects of El Niño on rice farms.

El Niño, De Mesa further explained, happened when farmers were already harvesting, sparing them from incurring losses due to the drier weather.

Citing the government's data, De Mesa said that as of Thursday, 2 May, the damage to agriculture caused by El Niño has reached P5.9 billion.

Rice was still the most affected crop, with a total value loss of P3.1 billion, followed by corn at P1.76 billion, and high-value crops at P958 million.

The MIMAROPA, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Western Visayas were the three most affected regions.

In March this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) projected that the country's first-quarter palay output would grow slightly to 4.83 million metric tons from 4.78 million MT last year.

It was also the same period when DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. projected that the country may produce a record-high volume of palay or unmilled rice this year of almost 21 million metric tons, despite threats of El Niño on local farms.

Laurel projected that palay output could reach 20.881 million MT this year, four percent more than the 20.059 million MT last year, based on its outlook as of March 21.

The DA's outlook that time showed that palay output could reach 7.667 million MT in the first half and 7.976 million MT in the second half.

De Mesa confirmed this by noting that the country's rice harvest slightly decreased during the first quarter of the year by 100,000 metric tons.

"That is very small, only less than 1 percent," he said, adding that the loss can be "easily" augmented through importation.

He said the country had already imported 1.6 million metric tons of rice.

De Mesa was also confident that the Philippines' rice supply was enough for now.