56 provinces in the country will experience the extreme El Niño phenomenon starting in April this year.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) first announced that El Niño will be felt until the first quarter, but unexpectedly, the dry days will be longer in the month of April.
By the end of January this year, there are 14 provinces that are expected to experience drought, mostly in Northern and Central Luzon, such as Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, and Nueva Ecija.
27 provinces will be affected by El Niño in February. It may increase to 44 in March and may reach 56 in April.
PAGASA stressed that the areas that have been experiencing extreme heat in the past months would continue to suffer the effects of the drought, and the temperature is expected to hit the highest 40 degrees celsius in Northern Luzon.
In this regard, the Department of Agriculture (DA) continues to communicate with farmers’ organizations and LGUs to work together to alleviate the effects of El Niño, especially on plantations.
DA plans to implement SRP on rice
The Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to implement suggested retail prices (SRPs) for rice to ensure that all Filipinos can eat rice at an affordable price for the product.
However, DA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said that in order to implement the measure, they must first consult with all stakeholders from consumer groups, producer groups, traders, and millers to set the SRP.
The statement was made by the DA when the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced an increase in the price of rice by 22.9 percent in December 2023, the fastest price increase in the past 14 years.
We need to look at the composition of the producers group, how to produce the paddy until it becomes rice. And then, on the traders side, what are their expenses for warehousing, milling, drying. As for the retailers, how much are their expenses, and can be compared, and in that way, the gains of the SRP will be seen,” said De Mesa.
In December 2023, the price of well-milled rice per kilo hit P53.82, higher than P51.99 per kilo in November 2023 or almost P10 higher compared to P43.98 per kilo of rice in December 2022 .
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