El Niño damage to crops reaches P1 billion

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Department of Agriculture said yesterday crop losses due to El Niño has reached nearly P1 billion in Region 2 alone.

Rodolfo Guieb, special assistant to the Undersecretary for Field Operation Guieb, said the weather phenomenon has severely damaged corn production in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Viscaya amounting to P949 million as of yesterday.

He said in Isabela a total of 42,274 metric tons of corn crops were affected by the dry spell which were valued at P549 million.

In Cagayan, it damaged some 16,000 MT of corn valued at P214 million and in Nueva Viscaya 14,357 MT valued at P186 million, Guieb added.

He said El Niño also affected rice production in the country, amounting to P343 million.

DA officials earlier said production losses under a mild El Niño scenario could reach P8.09 billion, while the damage caused by a severe dry spell could run up to P20.46 billion.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) had reported that this year’s El Niño would likely be moderate.

Guieb said the government is set to spend billions of pesos for an emergency food aid program for one million rural families who are likely to suffer from El Niño’s wrath.

He said under the program the government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), would provide poor families a sack of rice a month.

Guieb said the assistance would be coursed through the DSWD’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps.

Livelihood projects

The official said the DA would also provide livelihood projects and farm input subsidies for farmers who can no longer plant at this point as a result of the prolonged dry spell.

In its latest advisory, Pagasa said the El Niño phenomenon is reaching its peak, but it would continue through the rainy season before easing back toward more normal conditions.

In related developments, Cagayan Valley’s booming fresh water fish products are also in peril as hundreds of hectares of fish farms are now starting to dry up as a result of the dry spell. 

Reports showed that operators of various fresh water farms, including fish cages and hatcheries in the region, including along the Magat Dam reservoir, have already shifted to alternative livelihoods due to insufficient supply of water.

However, according to the region’s Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources, so far there were no reports yet of damage on fish farms throughout the region amid the worsening dry spell.

“Based on reports from local government units, there are no report yet of damage on aquaculture farms throughout the region,” said BFAR regional information officer Max Prudencio.

However, reports indicated that most fish farms in Isabela, including along the Magat Dam were already almost dried up due to absence of rainfall since early last year. 

Aside from thousands of hectares of farmlands, the Magat Dam along the Isabela-Ifugao border is also the major source of irrigation or water for various fishpens in the region.

As of latest measurement, the dam’s critical water level further dipped at 164.6 meters or barely four meters from the dam’s 160-meter minimum operational level.

Oxygen depletion

BFAR officials expressed fear that oxygen depletion and limited space of fishpens would happen due to the continued and alarming drop of water on fish farms, which would result in fish kill.     

Cagayan Valley produces more than 60,000 metric tons per year of fresh water fish production output. Among the fresh water fish being produced or cultured in the region are tilapia (Saint Peter’s fish), hito (cat fish), bangus (milk fish), lobsters, crabs and prawns. The region’s produce represents at least 20 percent of the country’s fresh water.

The country’s topmost corn and rice producing region, Cagayan Valley, which comprises Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, also contributes nearly two percent of the country’s total fishery production output.