The cost of damage in agriculture due to the prevailing dry spell in Zamboanga City has reached nearly P4 million as of March 15, 2024.

In a press briefing at the City Hall, the Office of the City Agriculturist reported that the continuing intense heat due to El Niño has damaged 96.4 hectares of rice and corn fields including vegetable crops and seaweeds.

Some 201 farmers and fisherfolk have been affected.

“The cost of damage may be lesser than expected because long before the El Niño reached the present peak, the city government had much time preparing for the interventions,” the local government said.

As early as March 2023, the city government had organized the Task Force El Niño following an advisory from the state weather bureau PAGASA.

A series of El Niño information caravan were then conducted in the city’s six agricultural districts in Vitali, Curuan, Manicahan, Culianan, Tamara, and Ayala.

The city government allocated some P4.5 million worth of interventions distributed to different farmlands as early as July 2023.

An additional P30.5 million was also earmarked for the agriculture sector, particularly for the drilling of deep wells and purchase of 127 water pumps to be distributed to areas where water is still available.

At least 20 areas were identified for drilling of deep wells in Vitali, Manicahan, Curuan, Culianan, Ayala, and Tumaga Districts.