Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The province of Iloilo recorded an estimated P20 million damage in crops due to severe drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon.
The dry spell also affected 1,000 hectares of rain-fed lands in four Iloilo towns. The local farmers in the municipalities of Leon, Tigbauan, Balasan, and Mina expressed worry on their current situation as they produced less crops compared last year.
Dr. Ildefonso Toledo, head of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO), said that the percentage of damage in irrigated lands is less than the rain-fed areas.
“This is still progressive considering that we are approaching summer and there is still a forecast of El Niño,” Toledo said.
The province’s total rice area covers 134,000 hectares and according to the PAO, the affected areas should be monitored because it’s alarming already.
But Toledo said total damage were not yet reported by local farmers since they have experienced rains for the past two weeks, contributing to a large volume of water to rice fields.
The Department of Agriculture in Region 6 encouraged farmers to plant alternative crops and rice varieties that could withstand the dry spell like watermelon, banana, and corn.
Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Iloilo has approved the slashed P33.7 million budget for El Niño mitigation measures on Tuesday (February 23) after some validations and processes.
Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. said they would not release the funding until there are corresponding guidelines which are still up for approval.
Of the total budget of the province’s calamity fund, P12 million will be allocated for water and P10 million will be utilized for agriculture.
Other breakdown are as follows: forest and biodiversity (P3 million), information and education campaign (P3 million), health (P2.5 million), veterinary (P2 million) and social capital (P1.2 million).
