El Niño damage rises to P8BBy The Manila TimesDAMAGE to crops due to El Niño has reached P7.96 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said. In its latest advisory, the Disaster Risk Reduction Operations Center of the DA reported that the drought destroyed 447,889 metric tons of rice and corn, more than double of total production loss recorded last March 31. Damage to the rice sector alone was at P4.04 billion, with an estimated volume of production loss of 191,761 MT over 144,202 hectares of agricultural land. Damage and losses in corn increased to P3.89 billion or 254,776 MT at 133,007 hectares, affecting 105,937 corn farmers. The DA said all regions have been affected by El Niño, which first hit the country late last year.

Source: Manila Times April 26, 2019 05:37 UTC