El Niño destroys P14-M crops in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The dry spell continued to ravage agricultural crops and livestock in this city, bringing the amount of damage to at least P14 million, local officials said yesterday.

City Agriculturist Diosdado Palacat said the drought has affected more areas, with the latest figure reported to have reached more than 750 hectares of land planted with rice, corn and vegetables.

Most of the crops have a low chance of recovery, he said.

The city government gave the assurance that El Niño has not affected the food supply.

City disaster management officer Elmeir Apolinario said aside from local producers, the city sources its food supply and other provisions from nearby regions.

“But mitigating measures are being adopted as we don’t want to wait until the food supply is depleted,” Apolinario said.

The city has declared a state of calamity to help mitigate the impact of the drought.

Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said they would conduct cloud seeding to help the affected farmers.

Salazar appealed to farmers in upland areas to avoid engaging in the slash and burn method of clearing the land for planting or making bonfires.