Dry spell cost Masbate, Albay at least P171 million in farm losses

SORSOGON, Philippines – The scorching heat and dry weather conditions brought on by the El Niño phenomenon continue to wreak havoc on the Bicol Region’s farms, with damage to agriculture in two provinces reaching at least P171 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region V reported on Wednesday, April 10.

The province of Masbate has incurred the most losses so far, amounting to P140.6 million, while farmers in Albay have lost at least P30.38 million as of March 19, according to Lovella Guarin, DA-Bicol’s public information officer.

Data obtained by Rappler show that Albay and Masbate alone had 6,561.72 hectares of rice fields adversely affected by the drought, 2,300 hectares of which are beyond recovery.

Guarin noted that the impacted farmlands could have yielded about 8,000.53 metric tons of rice.

The El Niño phenomenon has affected at least 3,070 farmers in the towns of Placer, Dimasalang, San Pascual, Milagros, Cawayan, and Esperanza in Masbate, and 4,059 farmers in the municipalities of Libon and Pio Duran in Albay, totaling 7,129 farmers, according to the DA.

Agriculture officials in four other Bicol provinces – Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, and Catanduanes – have yet to submit their damage reports to the DA as of Wednesday.

Then come the pests

Aggravating the problems caused by the heat and dry conditions are various pests that have damaged some 1,047 hectares of corn and rice fields in the region, according to the DA-Bicol’s Regional Crops Protection Center (RCPC).

The pests include bacterial leaf blight, fall armyworms, stem borers, corn plant hoppers, brown plant hoppers, and rodents.

RCPC data showed that pests impacted farms across several towns in two provinces. In Albay, the towns of Tiwi and Oas saw 19 hectares affected. In Camarines Norte, Daet and Labo were impacted with 21 hectares. 

About 989 hectares were also affected by pests in Camarines Sur across the towns of Bula, Pili, Tigaon, Gainza, Minalabac, Baao, Buhi, Libmanan, Bombon, Magarao, and Calabanga. 

In Catanduanes, the towns of Virac, Gigmoto, and Panganiban had five hectares impacted, while Prieto Diaz and Sorsogon City in the province of Sorsogon saw 33 hectares affected.

Guarin said these areas and the about 1,392 affected farmers are separate from those impacted by the drought.

The RCPC noted that the infested farms were either in the vegetative or reproductive stages.

Guarin explained that the DA has been assisting the affected farmers by providing biological control agents for manageable infestations and chemical pesticides for more advanced stages.

The RCPC report did not provide an estimate of the losses due to the pests.

The DA in the region has called on local governments to submit damage reports to the agriculture office so that timely interventions and assistance can be provided to affected farmers. – Rappler.com