Marcos brings some relief for farmers, fisherfolk in El Niño-devastated Caraga

BUTUAN, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday, June 20, brought aid to the Caraga region where thousands of farmers are still struggling with the impact of months of extreme weather conditions.

Nearly 12,000 farmers across the northeastern Mindanao region suffered the effects of the year-long El Niño episode, which ended in early June. Now, they are bracing for another extreme – La Niña, which is likely to begin between July and September.

The El Niño phenomenon, which resulted in dry weather conditions and scorching heat, caused some P9.5 billion worth of damage to agriculture and fisheries in the country. The losses in the Caraga region’s agriculture sector alone reached about P700 million, according to Marcos.

Marcos’ first stop was in Tandag City, where he led the distribution of cash aid of P10,000 each to selected families of farmers and fisherfolk from the provinces of Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur. He then proceeded to Butuan City to distribute the same aid to needy families, including those from Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, and Dinagat Islands.

He also turned over checks to city and provincial governments in the region, totaling P158.15 million.

“We believe that caring for our farmers and fisherfolk during times like these is key to recovery and to helping build a prosperous and progressive new Philippines,” Marcos said.

He noted the water supply crisis caused by El Niño in Butuan City, which led to the declaration of a citywide state of calamity.

“According to our data, 15% of your total population and 30% of livelihoods have been affected. It is estimated that 3,700 farmers and fisherfolk have been severely impacted by El Niño [in Butuan],” Marcos said.

Butuan Mayor Ronnie Vicente Lagnada said the city’s farmers and fisherfolk were adversely affected by extremely high temperatures caused by El Niño and the dry season.

“The extreme heat wave has severely impacted our city, with our farmers and fisherfolk being the hardest hit. They are the ones most affected by the El Niño phenomenon. The prolonged heat wave put our agricultural and fishing communities at risk and worsened water scarcity,” Lagnada said.

He said Butuan’s agro-fishery sector is working hard to recover from the impact of lost crops and decreased catches caused by the unfriendly environmental conditions, which he described as a very challenging situation that is “beyond control.”

One of the beneficiaries of the cash aid, 59-year-old farmer Elizabeth Basalo of Barangay Pinana-an in Las Nieves town, Agusan del Norte, said that aside from the El Niño, her farm was destroyed by a flood in February, followed by an infestation.

“Now, another problem is the worm infestation,” which has so far affected one of her four-hectare farm, Basalo said. – Rappler.com