El Nino 'ends' in Southern Mindanao

RAINY weather is expected to continue in Southern Mindanao and thus fears of the adverse effect of El Nino phenomenon are put to rest, a top agriculture official said.

Doctor Frisco Malabanan, director of the Department of Agriculture's (DA) Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Rice program, said Friday after a three-day tour in the provinces and cities of the region, that one of the signs that the "mild" El Niño phenomenon has already ended was that some farmers have already started planting rice.

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"Rains have already started that we are now worried with flooding," Malabanan said.

However, the weather bureau maintains that the El Niño phenomenon will have yet to peak this month of February.

Late 2009, the DA tagged the Davao provinces as "moderately vulnerable" to the effects of El Niño, which has been forecasted by the weather bureau to last until middle of 2010.

"The threat of El Niño, at least for the Davao region, is already gone," Malabanan said adding that the phenomenon actually increases the yield for farmers.

"During a mild El Niño, there is an abundance of solar power and there is low level of pests."

Nonetheless, a task force to look into the possible mitigating measures to avert the adverse effects of the El Niño phenomenon has been activated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The task force will be implementing the DA's El Niño Mitigation Program, which will focus on 23 "highly vulnerable" areas and 24 "moderately vulnerable" areas in the country, which includes Sarangani, South Cotabato, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Cavite, Rizal, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Misamis Oriental, and Zamboanga City.

Davao City and the provinces of Davao Region have been categorized as moderately vulnerable to the El Niño phenomenon alongside with the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Mt Province, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Romblon, Sorsogon, Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Samar, Zamboanga Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga Sur, and Bukidnon.

The DA identified the rice or palay sector as one of the major sectors vulnerable to El Niño, projecting a production loss 2.36 million metric tons (MT) worth some P40 billion, covering an area of 620,000 hectares.