DA-7: El Niño’s Impact to CV Rice Production Minimal

Despite the current drought experienced in Central Visayas, El Niño did not largely impact on rice production although data shows a slight dip in a three-year period.

Francisco Sopsop, chief of the Planning Division of the Department of Agriculture (DA-7), said rice production from 2013 to 2015 slightly dropped from 347,697 metric tons in 2013 to 338,822 metric tons in 2014 which again fell to 336,194 metric tons last year, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-7).

“Rice production in Central Visayas dropped from 2013 to 2014 at -2.6 percent. But this slightly improved from 2014 to 2015 which still registered negative at -0.8 percent,” said Sopsop during the recent forum of the Association of Government Information Officers – Philippine Information Agency (AGIO-PIA7) that tackled the topic “El Niño and Its Impact to Rice Production in Central Visayas.”

Sopsop said based on the official figures from the PSA-7, El Niño did not incur a large dent on rice production in the region.

This he attributed to majority of rice lands in irrigated areas at 59,058 hectares mostly found in Bohol, which have the largest size of rice lands in the region.

Though the provinces of Cebu and Bohol and some localities in Negros Oriental declared a “state of calamity,” Sopsop said the water level in surface water sources in Bohol did not yet reach a critical level but almost in a dangerous state.

This prompted DA-7 to inject cloud seeding to ensure surface dams have adequate water supply.

For rice planted in rain-fed areas or areas dependent on rain, this totaled 43, 369 hectares in the region.

This might explain the slight decline in rice production although Sopsop said water is not the only factor in yielding good harvest.

The DA-7 official, however, admitted that they still do not have the official data for the 1st quarter of 2016, which is still under verification.

“We received reports on damage to rice but our people on the field are still verifying the figures,” said Sopsop, adding that perhaps before the month ends, they will know the exact costs of damage wrought by El Niño to the farmlands in Central Visayas.

He said that so far, only five towns in Bohol that reported P3.85 million damage to rice lands involving 6,117 hectares was verified.

Over 3,000 farmers were affected by the drought, said Sopsop.

The minimal impact of the El Niño to the region’s rice production is also attributed to the agency’s aggressive information campaign before the onset of the El Niño in the second quarter of last year, said Sopsop.

“We conducted an information caravan to all municipalities and cities throughout the region on the possible effects of El Niño and how farmers should prepare for any eventuality,” said Sopsop.

DA-7 also crafted a Mitigation Plan on El Niño and requested their head office for a separate funding for its intervention measures. (rmn/fcr/PIA7)