Despite the ongoing harvest season in the Philippines, Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel Jr said rice prices may not go down due to the agricultural damage caused by the El Niño phenomenon which has now soared to P2.76 billion.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, April 3, Laurel said world rice prices are currently going down but due to the “lingering effects” of the phenomenon, it is unlikely for rice prices to decrease in the Philippines.

“Hopefully, ay bababa ‘yan (rice prices) sa second half of this year but as of the moment nandyan ang lingering effects ng El Niño. I don't think bababa pa nga as of the moment (Hopefully, rice prices would go down in the second half of this year as of the moment because there are the lingering effects of El Niño. I don’t think the prices will decrease as of the moment),” the DA chief said.

The Philippines is now at the peak of the El Niño phenomenon so we could expect to monitor more agricultural damage, said Laurel.

“To be honest, pataas pa, we are at the height of the El Niño now. Hopefully, by end of May, patapos na 'yan, pababa na (To be honest, [the agricultural damnage] is still increasing, we are at the height of El Nino now),” he explained.

Laurel said rice prices in the Philippines currently range from P47 to P57 per kilo, noting that prices vary depending on the quality and the location.

According to the DA chief, the agency is providing planting materials and fertilizers to aid El Nino-affected farmers.

El Nino hits 10 out of 16 regions 

Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa, the spokesperson of the agriculture department, said a total of 54,203 farmers from 10 regions in the country have been affected by the dry spell.

“‘Yung latest validated damage natin sa El Nino now stands at P2.76 billion (Our latest validated El Nino damage stands at P2.76 billion) from the previous [estimate] na P1.75 billion. So almost P1 billion ‘yung nadagdag (has been added),” he said.

“Ten out of the 16 regions ang (have been) affected. Sa ngayon ay (So far, they were) CAR, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Mimaropa, Region 5, Region 6, Region 9, Region 12.”

Citing the latest data of the agency, De Mesa said the Mimaropa (Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region has incurred the most damage which was at P770 million.

“[It] was followed closely by Region VI at P739 million worth of damage,” he added.

The spokesperson said rice recorded P1.7 billion in damage, followed by corn with recorded damage of P591 million.

Meanwhile, he said livestock only sustained P59.6 million in damage

Damaged rice fields

According to De Mesa, 34,264 hectares (ha) of rice fields have been damaged by the phenomenon.

He noted that, based on the monitoring of the agriculture department, only about 10,000 hectares are totally damaged

“Iyong partially damaged that can recover, iyan ang medyo malaki pa, 25, 000 hectares (Those partially damaged that can recover, that's still quite large, 25,000 hectares),” he said.

The DA spokesperson noted that the area planted with rice is nearly one million hectares, saying the 10,000 ha of totally damaged rice fields is only one percent.
He noted that El Niño is still expected to intensify, as forecasted by the state weather bureau, reaching its peak in April

The phenomenon is expected to subside gradually by May, he added.

Aid to farmers

Around P1.08 billion of assistance has been provided to farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon, said De Mesa.

“Karamihan niyan ay ‘yung ating financial assistance, insurance claims, ‘yung pautang ng ACPC (Agricultural Credit Policy Council). Ganoon na rin ‘yung mga pamahagi natin sa areas na naapektuhan na ready na rin magtanim, namahagi na rin tayo ng seedlings at seeds and fertilizers (Most of that is our financial assistance, insurance claims, loans from the ACPC (Agricultural Credit Policy Council). We have also distributed in areas affected and ready for planting, we have also distributed seedlings and seeds and fertilizers),” he said.

He said the DA has been coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help El Niño-affected farmers.

The DSWD has started distributing food packs to affected farmers in Mindoro, the official said.

On the other hand, he said the farmers were also included in DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), a community-based emergency employment program that provides short-term jobs to displaced, underemployed, and seasonal workers.

Recently, Task Force El Niño spokesperson Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama said El Niño may impact 80 provinces by the end of April.