The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has reported more than P5-billion damage to agriculture due to the dry spell and drought affecting the country from a weak El Nino phenomenon.
NDRRMC Executive Director and Office of Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Ricardo B. Jalad said based on their latest update issued at 5 p.m. last Tuesday, P5, 051,249,880.04 damage to agriculture was reported in the Cordillera Autonomous Region and Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, 4-B, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
However, Jalad said the figure is still subject to validation and verification by the Department of Agriculture.
Jalad added that 71,909 families or 359,545 persons in 110 barangays in North Cotabato have been affected by the drought.
A total of 164,672 farmers were affected by the drought in CAR and Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, 4-B, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 and BARMM.
Due to the effect of the El Niño phenomenon, Jalad said 26 local government units from Mountain Province, Occidental Mindoro, Camarines Sur, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Zamboanga City, Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, and Lanao del Sur have declared a state of calamity. (Francis Wakefield)