Agri damage due to dry spell surpasses P2 B

MANILA, Philippines — The amount of damage to agriculture caused by the prevailing dry spell in six regions has reached more than P2 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported yesterday.

NDRRMC executive officer Ricardo Jalad said that as of Sunday, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were directly affected by the spell.

“An estimated P2.69 billion worth of damage to agriculture – rice, corn and other high-value crops (HVC) – have been reported in these regions,” Jalad said.

The NDRRMC estimated the damage to rice in Calabarzon at P12 million, while in Mimaropa, damage to palay was at P181 million; corn, P3.5 million, and HVC P7.6 million.

In Bicol, damage to palay was placed at P577 million; corn, P215 million and HVC at P285 million.

In Western Visayas, at least P76 million worth of palay were destroyed by the dry spell.

Central Mindanao incurred P808 million worth of damage to palay and corn.

The dry spell also left P212 million damage to palay and P190 million to corn in BARMM.

“Mimaropa, Western Mindanao, Central Mindanao and BARMM have declared a state of calamity due to the dry spell,” Jalad said.

Jalad, who is also administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, said a total of 71,909 families or 359,545 individuals in the towns of Alamada, Aleosan, Kabacan, Pigkawayan and Pikit, all in Cotabato, were affected by the dry spell.

In the Cordilleras, authorities placed the damage to agriculture at over P1 billion.  

As of March 22, some P1.18 billion worth of palay, corn, cassava and other HVCs were destroyed by the dry spell.

Corn incurred the highest amount of damage at P958 million, followed by rice at P207.05, HVCs P10.80 million and cassava P3.76 million. 

Data showed the province of Ifugao was the hardest hit by the drought, with P470 million damage to agriculture, followed by Apayao with P456 million.

Authorities have yet to finalize the records from Benguet and Mountain Province.

Earlier, Lito Mocati of the regional agriculture office and disaster risk reduction and management council warned that the dry spell would bring more damage to crops than the frost that swept the highlands.

Mocati based his assessment on the advisories issued by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Mocati said the dry spell also took its toll on livestock. He said flow of water from streams has decreased, causing inadequate supply for irrigation.

“The towns of Aguinaldo in Ifugao and Rizal in Kalinga were the first to suffer from the effects of El Niño,” Mocati said. – With Artemio Dumlao, Delon Porcalla