DA assures preps, interventions in anticipation of La Niña

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday assured that all interventions for farmers are in place as the country anticipates the effects of the La Niña phenomenon.

The DA issued the statement after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised the La Niña warning – a 70 percent chance of occurring from August to October.

"Standby tayo palagi sa ating quick response fund (QRF), sa mga assistance, credit, iyong ating buffer stock for seeds, anytime pwede silang magtanim. These are the immediate measures na pwede nilang makuha mula sa DA (We have standby quick response fund, assistance, credit, seed buffer stock, anytime they can plant. These are the immediate measures that they can get from the DA)," Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview.

The interventions have already been prepositioned at DA regional offices nationwide.

De Mesa said Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has also ordered to speed up the clearance of drainage systems, construction of water-impounding projects, and other post-harvest facilities, especially in flood-prone areas.

"Pinabibilis ang mga construction. May mga natapos na, ngayon habang wala pang La Niña, hopefully matapos iyong karamihan diyan (We are speeding up the construction. There are those completed [projects], we hope that many of these will be completed while there's no La Niña yet," De Mesa said.

"Isa iyon sa mga priority ni Secretary na maayos iyong post-harvest facilities natin (That's one of the Secretary's priorities to set our post-harvest facilities), which will include dryers, rice mills, and warehouses," he added, citing P10 billion worth of budget allocation.

The DA, meanwhile, expressed confidence in hitting its target production for the yearend even if La Niña occurs.

The agency is targeting 20.44 million metric tons (MT) of palay harvest this year, higher than the record-high output of 20.06 million MT in 2023.

"By that time, marami nang parts ng Pilipinas natin na naka-harvest especially ng rice and corn kasi kung nagtanim sila ng May June, tamang-tama naka-harvest na sila niyan…Kami very hopeful pa rin na (many parts of the Philippines have already harvested especially in rice and corn because if they planted in May, or June, their harvest will be on time…We are very hopeful that) we can still meet our target 20.4 million MT (metric tons)," De Mesa said.

De Mesa said farmers are expected to harvest from early September to October.

Earlier, the DA said agri damage to rice due to typhoons and flooding may fall within the 500,000 MT to 600,000 MT, based on historical data.

For El Niño, the country incurred some P9.9 billion worth of agricultural damage nationwide.

To date, the DA has provided affected farmers and fishers with seeds, fertilizers, farm equipment, fuel subsidies, boats and fishing gear, among others. (PNA)