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Philippine gov't vows to provide more help to farmers affected by El Nino

Xinhua, February 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Philippine government has allotted 900 million pesos (18.93 million U.S. dollars) to support immediate intervention for the farmers in southern region in Mindanao affected by severe El Nino, a senior government official said Sunday.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said his office is awaiting the release of the fund.

He assured that the government will continue to provide the best options for farmers, with the Department of Agriculture providing shallow tube wells, water pumps and solar water pumps to farmers' groups and irrigators' association.

Alcala noted that reports reaching his office showed that in southern province of Maguinanao alone, 17,000 hectares for both rice and corn areas have been damaged due to El Nino, affecting over 20,000 farmers. The province has been placed under a state of calamity.

The El Nino phenomenon is expected to be felt until the second quarter of this year. Endit