MANILA – With extreme heat yet to peak in the Philippines, the country’s agricultural sector has already incurred billions worth of production losses due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.
For Filipino farmers, agricultural losses mean harvest decline and potential profit decline.
Anthony Francisco, a 15-year palay (unhusked rice) farmer in San Miguel, Bulacan, shared how the looming very strong El Niño causes them
to worry for their next cropping season.
“Ang nararanasan ho (sa El Niño), mahina ho ang ani. Lugi. Lalo po siguro ngayon na super El Niño (Harvest goes down in an El Niño, resulting in losses. More so now that it’s super El Niño),” the 40-year-old said in an interview.
Francisco is counting on the government’s long-term solution to cushion the impact of the extreme heat.
“Tutukan at tulungan po kami dahil kawawa ‘yung mga magsasaka (They should focus on us and help us because farmers are really vulnerable),” he said.
To provide both short- and long-term solutions, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking ways to expedite delivery of interventions and look for additional funding.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. backed the recent proposal of Senate Committee on Agriculture chairperson Senator Francis Pangilinan to declare a state of calamity to streamline aid delivery.
“I do agree na maganda na mag-declare tayo (that it’s good to declare) because from all indications it’s a super El Niño. Everybody in the world is saying it, so we better act fast,” he said in a statement.
In terms of budget, the DA is waiting for the additional PHP5 billion worth of El Niño response fund dedicated for solar irrigation and cold storage projects.
In an online interview, DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said they are expecting its release within October or early November.
“Makakatulong ‘yung mga pondong ire-release sa atin. Wala namang maliit na pondo pero syempre dahil sa severity nitong ine-expect natin na super El Niño, mas maganda talaga na mas maraming resources ang maibigay sa atin (This fund to be released will help us. There’s no small funding but due to the severity that we are expecting from the super El Niño, it’s better to secure significant resources granted to us),” he told the Integrated State Media.
This will cover the procurement of compact, mobile solar-powered irrigation, and additional cold storage projects to support production of palay, corn, vegetables and sugarcane.
“Kung ma-release agad, magkakaroon kami ng early procurement, matapos (Once it’s immediately released, we will have early procurement, completion) so we can still distribute these mobile compact solar-powered irrigation. It will irrigate farm areas up to three hectares,” De Mesa said.
“The sooner na ma-release ito at ma-implement natin, makakatulong ito doon sa mga areas na maaapektuhan, lalo na ‘yung (the sooner it’ll be released and implemented, it will help those in affected areas, especially during the) first quarter of next year,” he added.
The PHP5-billion funding is on top of the earlier released worth PHP6.2 billion under the UPLIFT (Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport) program, a majority of which is allocated for fertilizer support worth PHP2.2 billion.
Allocation for fuel aid is at PHP1 billion for eligible farmers and PHP1 billion for eligible fishers; another PHP1 billion for Presidential Assistance to Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk; and PHP1 billion fuel subsidy for agricultural transport.
The PHP6.2 billion is considered the first batch out of the total PHP45 billion funding for El Niño response.
De Mesa, however, expressed hopes to secure a higher El Niño response budget under the 2027 proposed fund, eyeing more than PHP60 billion to mitigate the prolonged impact of extreme drought.
Besides these, the DA has earlier assured other interventions, including cloud-seeding operations, adoption of alternate wetting-and-drying methods to reduce water consumption, promotion of drought-resistant crops and pest-control efforts, and support for alternative cropping in areas most susceptible to extreme heat and drought.
Other farmers who will not be able to plant for the upcoming cropping season will also be eligible for livelihood programs such as Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program or financial assistance, in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Labor and Employment.
Based on the latest projections of the DA, Philippine agriculture may incur about PHP20 billion worth of possible losses due to the very strong El Niño.
For the worst-case scenario, at least 2.8 million farmers and fishers may also be affected by the extreme drought.
As of Wednesday, the agriculture sector has sustained PHP8.57 billion worth of agriculture damage, according to the DA-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center.
Around 288,000 farmers are affected in the sectors of corn, rice, high-value crops, cassava, livestock and poultry. (PNA)
