El Nino damage on Philippine agriculture hits US$175 million

The El Nino-induced dry spell is taking its toll on the Philippine agricultural sector as damages to the country's farm crops increased to PHP8 billion ($174.6 million), a senior agricultural official said Wednesday (March 10).

Philippine Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla said damages to rice and corn account for half of total figure.

Fondevilla said the figure were culled from 14 affected provinces namely, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino in Northern Luzon; Bulacan and Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon; Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon and Masbate in Southern Luzon; and Antique, Guimaras and Negros Occidental in Western Visayas.

However, he could not give a breakdown of the total farmlands affected or the volume of the crops that were already destroyed by the drought.

A report prepared by the Department of Agriculture's Central Action Center (DACAC) placed total damages at PHP11.2 billion (US$244.4 million), with the damage in paddy rice production already nearing 300,000 tonnes.

Despite the damages incurred by rice subsector, Fondevilla said the department is holding on its estimate that the country could still produce 7.2 million tonnes of paddy rice in the first half of the year.