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Friday, March 29, 2024

El Niño hits Guimaras crops

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Iloilo City—The Provincial Agriculture Office of the island province of Guimaras has reported losses of about P11 million worth of agricultural products, especially on high value crops, due to El Niño.

“Based on our partial report, damages in our rice was pegged at less than a million, for the corn it’s about P200, 000. Most of the damages are seen on high value crops like vegetables, cacao, and coffee,” said Ronnie Morante, Guimaras PAO head, in an interview Saturday.

Cacao, specifically, was distributed to farmers sometime in August and in September in 2018. Farmers planted the crop around the period of distribution and the crops were affected by the El Niño in February and March this year.

Morante said the P11-million agricultural damage could still increase. “We are projecting this because we haven’t experienced rain yet, so we are projecting that the damages will reach P15 million,” he said.

Unlike those who planted high value crops, rice farmers in the province heeded the advice of the agriculture office, thus the impact on rice crops was prevented, he said.

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As of February, Guimaras yielded 57,100 metric tons of rice, which placed the province at 151 percent sufficiency of the staple food.

Morante said El Niño is a “favorable” weather to mangoes, as Guimaras is known for its sweetest mangoes.

“It is a favorable weather to mangoes, cashew nuts, and salt production but some of our mangoes bear smaller fruits,” he said.

Part of the intervention programs of the PAO is the distribution of grafted cacao seedlings, vegetable seeds, and planting materials for coffee, during the rainy season.

Morante said although the effect of the dry weather is felt in the towns of Buenavista, Jordan, Nueva Valencia, San Lorenzo and Sibunag, no municipality was placed under a state of calamity. 

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