El Niño farm losses in Davao Region climb to P584.68 million, DA says

Farm losses blamed on El Niño in the Davao Region have reached P584.68 million, affecting 6,205 farmers and 6,634 hectares of farmland, the Department of Agriculture in Davao (DA-Davao) said, according to SunStar.

Joedel Leliza, DA-Davao's disaster risk reduction and management focal person, presented the figures at the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps briefing on Wednesday, October 28, at The Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City. The total is roughly P200 million higher than the agency's previous report of about P400 million in losses and 3,900 affected farmers, with the increase coming after damage validation in Davao del Sur.

Rice was hit hardest, with P390.24 million in losses covering 3,793 farmers and 5,362 hectares. High-value crops followed at P126.9 million, most of it in fruits at P96.22 million. Livestock and poultry losses stood at P35.22 million, while corn losses reached P32.32 million.

Leliza said the damage was recorded as "moisture stress" because crop damage had been observed as early as January and February, before the agency could tap calamity funds for El Niño.

DA-Davao's El Niño action plan has a budget of P729.11 million, with P678.73 million set aside to boost production in areas less vulnerable to the dry spell. Leliza said Davao del Norte and Davao Occidental were identified as less vulnerable this year, though Davao del Norte is expected to become vulnerable by February. He said rice output in Davao del Norte is projected to rise by 20 to 30 percent this second semester because of the interventions. "Our number one target and objective is food security," he said.

The agency is procuring P66.34 million worth of seeds, fertilizers and plastic drums for farmers affected by moisture stress and has requested another P274.09 million in quick response funds. The current batch covers about 12,416 farmers across the region.

Leliza urged farmers to build even small water impounding facilities while rain is still falling. He said the DA has pre-positioned open-source pumps for irrigated rice areas, and the National Irrigation Administration plans to rotate water releases if irrigation levels drop by 0.5 to 0.6 meters. In areas expecting water shortages, farmers will be advised to shift to drought-tolerant crops such as mung beans and watermelon.

Farmers were also advised to follow the Agri Info Davao Facebook page and the Agro-Climatic Advisory Portal, which provides a 10-day farm weather outlook. Pagasa earlier said El Niño is expected to intensify into a very strong event and last through the first half of 2027.