MANILA – The Department of Agriculture on Monday assured aid for farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
Agriculture director Chris Morales said that in areas placed under a state of calamity, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation can provide financial assistance.
Farmers can also avail of survival recovery funds in the form of a P5,000 grant and P15,000 in soft loans, as well as fertilizers and seeds during the planting season.
The Agriculture Department earlier reported that damage from El Niño had already reached P4.35 billion.
Hardest hit, according to Morales, were rice and corn farms.
Morales assured the public that the DA is implementing other measures to mitigate the impact of El Niño.
“For those areas na kaya pang i-save, we’re doing water management. Tinutulungan natin. And then our field offices, nagpapahiram sa farmers ng pumping engine. Coordinating with PAGASA and the Air Force with regards doon sa cloud seeding operations …ongoing,” Morales said.
Morales, however, said there were areas that were not as affected like Region 3 where farmers were able to change their cropping calendar.
“Starting na mga iba yung harvesting ngayon. Kung tataas man siya (estimate of El Niño damage,) hindi na katulad noong jump from P1.3 to P4 (billion.) Definitely, it’s much less compared sa last episode ng El Niño,” Morales said. (GMA News)
