The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that the impact of El Niño on key local crops has resulted in minimal damage relative to the year’s production targets.

According to Agriculture Assistant Secretary U-Nichols Manalo, data released on 6 June revealed that rice cultivation suffered across 86,587 hectares, equivalent to approximately 191,000 metric tons (MT) of lost yield. He noted that this loss represents only two percent of the anticipated production volume of 9.2 million MT by the end of June.

Similarly, corn production saw a reduction of 188,861 MT due to El Niño, against a target of 4.4 million MT. Manalo emphasized that this shortfall constituted just 4.2 percent of the total production goal for the period.

“In terms of the impact of El Niño on our main staple crops, the damage was relatively minor,” said Manalo in a media briefing in Quezon City. He underscored the DA’s current focus on preparing for the possibility of La Niña, noting, “We are in the middle of the year with the third and fourth quarters ahead of us.”

No additional funds

Further, the DA official clarified that no additional funds had been allocated to DA to address the potential impact of La Niña.

“Of course, except for what is distributed by the Office of the President, this comes from the President’s fund, the presidential assistance for farmers and fishermen, where they distribute this,” he said. “But the instruction is the strategy made by the Department of Agriculture, and the good thing about it is the early readiness.”

He explained that this year’s DA budget, which was utilized for the El Niño response, will also be used to address La Niña, which he anticipates may extend into next year.

The DA’s proposed budget to Congress and the Senate will include a strategy to address the expected impact of La Niña, according to Manalo.

The weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration declared the onset of El Niño on 4 July last year. The phenomenon officially terminated on 4 June.

Meanwhile, a La Niña watch was issued in March, signifying a level of more than 55 percent of its occurrence in the next six months.

Central Visayas reports

P120-M loss

On Wednesday, the DA in Central Visayas (DA-7) revealed that crop losses from rice and corn due to the El Niño phenomenon totaled P120 million. For rice, losses amounted to P114 million, while corn losses totaled P6.3 million. Among the affected areas, Bohol incurred the highest rice loss at P85 million, followed by Negros Oriental with P21 million, Cebu with P4 million, and Siquijor with P2.9 million.

Namoc said that 3,445 hectares of rice land were affected by the El Niño conditions. Central Visayas encompasses a total agricultural land area of 524,889 hectares, distributed as follows: Negros Oriental with 228,883 hectares (44 percent), Cebu with 146,056 hectares (28 percent), Bohol with 136,613 hectares (26 percent), and Siquijor with 13,337 hectares (3 percent).

Bohol dedicates 58,222 hectares to rice production and 5,886 hectares to corn, while Cebu cultivates 2,016 hectares of rice and 49,957 hectares of corn. Negros Oriental has 19,333 hectares for rice and 35,851 hectares for corn, while Siquijor utilizes 400 hectares for rice and 2,556 hectares for corn.

Other crops include high-value crops, coconut, sugarcane, and various others.

In terms of farmers, there are 593,512 registered with DA-7, distributed as follows: Cebu with 248,825 farmers, Bohol with 184,318, Negros Oriental with 147,346, and Siquijor with 113,023.

Primary commodities in Central Visayas include palay, corn, poultry, swine, mango, cacao, coffee, lowland and upland vegetables.