The effects of the El Niño phenomenon hardly affected the rice crops in the country, a Department of Agriculture (DA) official said Sunday.

In fact, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said 20.4 million metric tons of rice are expected to be harvested this year compared to the 20.06 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 at DZBB.

“The damage was not that big compared to what we expected. We’ve prepared for this through the advisories of Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and our coordination with National Irrigation Administration,” 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 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 and Western Visayas were the three most affected regions.