Drought destroys P18.5 million crops in Ilocos

By Erwin G. Beleo

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — At least P18.5 million worth of agricultural crops have been destroyed by El Niño across more than 1,000 hectares in the Ilocos region, the Department of Agriculture Region 1 office said last week.

DA Region 1 Technical Director Ed Gonzales said that farmers from the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union were the most affected

by the long dry spell with their joint losses in rice hitting P17.9 million.

About P705,000 and P94,000 in high value crops and corn were also damaged in both provinces, Gonzales reported.

“This estimate was based on reports we gathered when El Niño persisted in the region from February to April, but still continuously monitoring it,” said Gonzales.

Drought was felt in nine municipalities in Pangasinan and seven in La Union which resulted in a slight decline in farmers’ rice production.

El Niño slightly affected corn production in six towns of Pangasinan and four municipalities in La Union.

On the number of affected areas, reports showed that 890 hectares of rice producing lands, 134 hectares for corn yielding lands and an estimate of four hectares for high value crops were damaged.

However, the agriculture department said they have implemented actions that responded to the drought such as construction of water impounding and water diversion dams all over the region, distribution of drought-tolerant vegetable seedlings and proper allocation of rice seedlings per farmer, among others.