Damage to agriculture due to the El Niño phenomenon has breached the P4-billion mark, with Mindoro and Palawan sustaining the biggest blow, the Department of Agriculture said Monday.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources also warned of an “alarming” decline in Angat Dam’s water level, prompting the government to implement water conservation measures starting this week.
“The decrease in water level in terms of its rate is quite alarming. The water level in Angat Dam lowers by almost 0.4 meters or half a meter every day. So we need to have a little intervention,” Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said.
The water level in Angat Dam, which supplies around 90 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila, Rizal, and portions of Cavite and Bulacan, is currently at 188.45 meters, while its minimum operation level is 180 meters.
For his part, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said damage to agriculture has reached P4.39 billion, with the Mimaropa region logging the highest damages at P1.7 billion to date.
“Western Visayas posted the second biggest damage at P1.02 billion while the two provinces that were hardest hit by the intense hot spell are Mindoro and Palawan,” he said.
The unusually hot weather in the country was expected to last until mid-May, the state weather bureau said as extreme heat scorched Southeast Asia in recent days.
Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the United Nations’ weather and climate agency said Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.
The Philippines ranked among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The DA said it has provided P2.16 billion worth of interventions to farmers and fishers, including P1.05 billion worth of financial assistance to affected farmers.
This, De Mesa said, involved the release of P5,000 to affected farmers tilling not more than two hectares of land.
Farmers have also received assistance in kind amounting to P638 million worth of farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and other farm implements.
The DA likewise provided P295 million worth of small-scale irrigation projects.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), the agricultural insurance unit of the DA, provided indemnification to about 7,322 farmers, totaling about P68 million.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) distributed more than 60,000 animals and about 111 alternative livelihood projects for affected fishermen and their families.
Cloud seeding operations by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), done mostly in the Magat Dam reservoir, provided additional irrigation support to farmers.
To date, about 11 regions have been affected by El Niño that include the whole of Luzon and Cordillera Administrative Region, Western Visayas, Davao Region and Soccsksargen in Mindanao.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Damage to crops due to El Niño breaches P4-billion—DA
