Agri chief says external conditions now 'more favorable' as PH preps for El Niño

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Tuesday said external conditions are now improving, which was worsened by the US-Israel versus Iran war earlier this year, paving the way for his department to focus on preparing for the impending El Niño phenomenon in the second half of 2026.

In a statement, Tiu Laurel said that “external conditions have also become more favorable” as fuel prices have eased and fertilizer prices have fallen sharply from a peak of about $930 per metric ton (MT) to around $450 per MT, with domestic retail prices expected to return to near pre-war levels of P1,600 to P2,000 per bag by August.

The lower input costs, the Agriculture chief said would “provide an opportunity to encourage farmers to maximize planting before the dry spell intensifies.”

He added that the Agriculture Department has more lead time than it did during the previous El Niño episode and should use that window to roll out mitigation measures.

Moreover, Tiu Laurel ordered the DA to fast-track irrigation, water impounding and other climate adaptation projects, including small farm reservoirs that can also support fisheries and provide farmers with additional food and income rather than waiting for reservoirs to dry up or crops to fail.

"Preparedness prevents a challenge from becoming a crisis, and a crisis from deteriorating into a catastrophe. That must be our guiding principle in the months ahead," he said.

Weather forecasts have pointed to strong El Niño episode that is expected to peak around November, making the coming months critical for food production.

Beyond immediate climate preparations, Tiu Laurel also cited a broader shift toward a food systems approach where production, storage, logistics, weather information and market demand are managed as one integrated network supported by real-time data.

Additional cold storage, blast freezers and logistics facilities, he said, would allow local harvests to be preserved longer and distributed more efficiently, significantly reducing the country's dependence on imports.

The Agriculture chief also directed regional offices to identify each province's strongest agricultural and fisheries commodities, quantify production capacity and measure post-harvest losses to guide investments in storage, processing and cold chain infrastructure. —VAL, GMA News