Effects of El Niño being felt across the country

The El Niño dry spell has been causing losses in agriculture and tourism across the country, from farmlands up north to poultry farms and tourist destinations down south. In Benguet in northern Philippines, water sources for mountain farmlands planted to potato, cabbage and other temperate vegetables have began to dry up due to El Niño, threatening huge agricultural losses for the country’s “Salad Bowl" and a rise in the prices of vegetables. “There will be changes in the characteristic of plants. Pests and diseases are also possible," said Lolita Bentres, provincial agriculturist of Benguet. In Ilagan, capital town of Isabela province also in northern Philippines, the Pinsal Falls in the Ilagan Sanctuary, a popular tourist attraction among locals, has begun to dry up also due to El Niño. “Kung dati ang lapad niya isang buong kurtina, ngayon siguro kalahating kurtina na lang siya. Parang kalahati po ‘yung tubig na nawala po (If before it was as wide as an entire curtain span, now it’s probably just half a curtain wide. It’s like half of the water has been lost)," said Billy Perez of the Ilagan Sanctuary. A seven-foot deep swimming pool inside the sanctuary, which used to be open for public use, has also stopped operations since the spring where it gets its water supply has also dried up. Farther south, in the Bicol region, corn farmers have appealed to their provincial governments for assistance to avoid further damage to their crops due to the dry spell. In poultry farms in Zamboanga City in Mindanao, an average of 30 to 40 chickens die daily due to heat stroke and dehydration. “Natural yan kasi dahil sa init, tsaka medyo kinulang na rin ng tubig para inumin nila, kaya nagkaproblema para sa ating nag-aalaga ng manok at iba pang hayop (That’s natural due to the heat, and also, drinking water for them has become scarce somewhat, so we raisers of chicken and other livestock are now having problems)," said a local poultry farm owner. Even water levels in the Maria Cristina Falls in Iligan City have begun to decrease due to the dry spell. Aside from being a popular tourist spot, the falls also provides hydroelectric power in Lanao del Norte.—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV and GMA News