ILOILO CITY – Crops worth more than P726.7 million have been damaged by the dry spell caused by the El Niño in Western Visayas.
The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC), in a report on Tuesday, March 12, that cited the Department of Agriculture (DA)-6, said that El Niño has damaged a total of 14,528.85 hectares of rice and corn farms and 32,722.22 metric tons of products.
More than 19,000 farmers in the region have been affected.
Iloilo sustained the biggest crop damage in Western Visayas at more than P513.5 million.
Twenty-five towns have reported damages to the Iloilo Provincial Agricultural Office.
El Niño damaged 9,388 hectares of farmland and affected 9,941 farmers in Iloilo.
Antique registered P125.2 million in crop damage with 2,654 hectares of farmland damaged, affecting 4,104 farmers.
The province of Negros Occidental registered P55 million in crop damage. Around 1,053 hectares of farmland were damaged and 1,205 farmers were affected.
Aklan registered P30.1 million in crop damage. Around 1,383 hectares of farmland were damaged and 3,771 farmers have been affected.
The province of Capiz reported crop losses amounting to P2.7 million with 48.25 hectares damaged and 30 farmers affected.
Guimaras has yet to submit an initial report.