BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) is validating the El Niño-affected rice farms in the region.
DA-CAR agriculturist Miriam Pastor said the region has recorded an initial figure of 2,400 hectares of affected rice farms based on reports from local government units.
“There are possibilities na they reported they were affected during the vegetative, idi bassit pay dagiyay palay, tapos i-report da manen idi dimmakelen or idi nagbunga,” Pastor said.
[There are possibilities that they reported when the crops were affected during the rice vegetative stage, and then they reported it again when the plants grew or bore produce.]
Pastor added that most of the affected areas are the traditional or heirloom rice areas in Abra, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Kalinga. This is because heirloom rice is mostly planted in January.
Meanwhile, rice areas in Apayao are minimally affected because they were planted earlier last year and harvested in February. Some municipalities in Kalinga have also planted as early as November and harvested their produce in February.
“Dagiti nakamula iti November, saan da unay a naapektaran iti El Niño. Dagiti planters from last week of December and January, isuda ti naapektaran,” Pastor said.
[Those who planted in November, the effect of El Niño is minimal. The planters from last week of December and January are the ones affected.]
She said that even before the onset of El Niño, they had already planned with the National Irrigation Administration and concerned LGUs, particularly on the release of water irrigation.
As early as July last year, the DA-CAR distributed water pumps to El Niño-affected rice areas and other drought-identified areas in the region.
The agency continues to monitor the effect of El Niño as they provide the necessary interventions to the affected farmers including the provision of agricultural inputs.
Based on the latest climate outlook from PAGASA, El Niño in the tropical Pacific continues to weaken, but impacts such as hotter and drier conditions continue. The probability of La Niña in the June-July-August 2024 season is 60 percent. (DEG-PIA CAR)
