El Niño-hit farmers get P189-M aid

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is prioritizing farmers whose crops have been devastated by El Niño, with more than P189 million in humanitarian assistance distributed to affected communities across several regions as of 7 November.

The agency recently provided more than P31 million in financial assistance to drought-hit farmers in Capalonga and Paracale, Camarines Norte, through its Field Office V.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said emergency cash transfers (ECT) were distributed to farmers whose crops had been damaged by the prolonged dry conditions.

“Just the other day, in Capalonga, Camarines Norte, where we distributed emergency cash transfers to farmers whose crops were devastated by the drought they are experiencing,” Dumlao said in a radio interview on Sunday.

“In Capalonga and Paracale, Camarines Norte, we distributed more than P31 million in financial assistance through Field Office V,” she added.

Dumlao said other areas in Camarines Norte were also scheduled to receive ECT payouts this week and next week.

She noted that the agency had been engaging with farmers who had stopped farming because of the drought, with some expressing reluctance to plant again out of fear that their efforts and investments would be wasted.

“They are thankful that we were able to extend financial assistance to them despite everything, so that somehow, their needs can also be addressed,” the DSWD spokesperson said.

The agency also provided more than P141 million in assistance to corn and rice farmers in Region 2, particularly in Isabela and Cagayan, who were affected by the drought. The assistance consisted of emergency cash transfers and family food packs.

Dumlao said farmers identified by local government units as the most severely affected by the drought were being prioritized for the agency's ECT program.

Based on its latest report, the DSWD recorded more than 191,000 families affected by El Niño across Region 2, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Region 5, Region 12, and Caraga.

As of Saturday, the agency had distributed more than P189 million worth of humanitarian assistance to affected families.

“We expect this figure to increase sapagkat may mga reports pa na dumarating,” Dumlao said.

The DSWD initially distributed assistance in Region 2 before extending its operations to Camarines Norte last month, one of the provinces in the Bicol Region affected by El Niño.

The agency said it would continue coordinating with local government units to identify the most vulnerable farming communities and ensure that assistance reaches families whose livelihoods have been affected by the drought.