MANILA, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Damage to the Philippines' agriculture due to the prolonged drought brought about by El Nino phenomenon has reached almost eight billion pesos (about 154 million U.S. dollars), according to a government agency on Friday.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) of the Philippines said in a report that a total of 247,610 farmers in different regions from the northern to the southern Philippines have been affected so far by the dry spell in the past three months.
Citing data from the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines, the NDRRMC said an estimated 7.97 billion pesos worth of damages to agriculture were reported in 14 out of the country's 17 regions as of April 25.
The drought has affected 144,202 hectares of land planted to rice, according to NDRRMC, adding that production loss to the rice sector has now hit more than four billion pesos (about 77 million U.S. dollars).
The NDRRMC said a total of 133,007 hectares of corn plantation has also been affected with a total cost of damage reaching 3.89 billion pesos (roughly 75 million U.S. dollars).
Agriculture is one of the main sectors of the Philippine economy that could be severely affected by the El Nino phenomenon.
Several provinces in the Philippines are expected to experience dry spell from March to May or June, according to the state weather bureau.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the Philippines will experience "below normal to way below normal rainfall", particularly in the main Luzon island, Visayas region in the central Philippines and northern Mindanao in the southern Philippines.
It said the prolonged dry spell will last until June this year.
El Nino is a natural phenomenon characterized by the abnormal warming of sea surface temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. On average, it occurs every two to seven years and can last up to 18 months.
During El Nino episodes, normal patterns of tropical precipitation and atmospheric circulation are disrupted, triggering extreme climate events around the globe.
