KIANGAN, Ifugao — Thousands of rice farmers in this agricultural town admitted Tuesday they are now having a hard time coping with the worsening effects of the El Niño phenomenon to their crops which they are supposed to harvest in the next few months.

The farmers complained that the dry weather phenomenon is resulting to more expenditures on their part.

As the dry spell rages, farmers are forced to buy rolls of hoses to tap water from nearby brooks to water their palay and vegetables since their water sources have already been depleted.

Many farmers here revealed that in a desperate effort to save their plants from eventual devastation, they have to buy rolls of water hoses and various farm supplies that entail additional expenses on their part with no guarantee of return of investment since most of their crops have already been damaged.

The affected farmers said there was still enough supply of water when they planted their plants, but the water level in their supposed sources started drying up because of the prolonged dry spell.

To compound their woes, the farmers lamented that several farm supply dealers are selling hoses that are made up of low-quality materials and get easily damaged, thus adding to their financial losses.

Because of the long dry spell, which is expected to last until the middle of this year, farmers’ associations claimed they do not expect a good harvest this cropping season.

Worse, the municipal government here reported that many farmers in different barangays have already abandoned their rice and vegetable farms because of lack of water to irrigate their farms.

Cracks in numerous rice paddies are already visible while palay and most vegetables are now turning brown due to the prolonged dry spell.