DRIED UP. Thousands of hectares of agricultural land such as in this undated photo have been destroyed by the El Niño-induced drought in Negros Oriental. Damage to crops and other agricultural losses in the province is now pegged at PHP1.6 billion, the Provincial Agriculture Office said on Wednesday (May 15, 2024). (PNA file photo by Mary Judaline F. Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Damage to crops like rice and corn as well as other agricultural losses in Negros Oriental due to the El Niño phenomenon has now reached more than PHP1.6 billion, an official said Wednesday.
Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) chief Emmanuel Caduyac told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that the latest data available as of this week showed that the amount represents some 9,560 metric tons of production loss in volume.
It is expected to increase as other local government units have yet to consolidate their figures.
“The numbers are still expected to rise as some local government units (LGUs) in the province still have to consolidate and update their losses and damage, but regardless, we are now deploying farm equipment and adopting mitigating measures,” Caduyac said in part Cebuano and English.
Aside from rice and corn, high-value crops, livestock, and fisheries were also reported damaged by the drought.
Roughly 4,900 hectares of agricultural land have been affected, with 1,410 hectares having no chance of recovery while the rest are partially damaged, he said.
The province has started distributing tractors as a deed of donation to the different LGUs through the mayors and to farmers’ associations to assist in the recovery and/or rehabilitation of their agricultural lands amid the continuing drought triggered by the El Niño, Caduyac said.
The tractors include 23 units of 50 horsepower worth a total of PHP32 million, and 30 units of 90 horsepower with a total cost of PHP63 million taken from the provincial government’s supplemental funds, he added.
More than 7,000 farmers and fisherfolk affected by the drought are also set to receive free rice of 25 kilos each to be purchased by the provincial government through its Quick Response Fund.
No rice distribution date has been set yet as procurement is still ongoing.
Caduyac said a budget of PHP20 million has been earmarked for this while the province is now in the final stages of acquiring four ramp pumps to assist in the irrigation of farmlands.
Negros Oriental is now under a state of calamity due to the El Niño, with local state weather bureau authorities saying that the drought is projected to extend until June. (PNA)
