The government is laying out strategies to help the agriculture sector withstand whatever negative effects a potential El Niño occurrence might bring.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the plans during his visit to Nueva Ecija after he ordered the establishment of a unit to address El Niño concerns specifically.
During the distribution of at least P210 million worth of modern farm equipment and financial aid to different farmers’ groups and local governments in Nueva Ecija, Marcos said the government is “crafting many plans” to ensure that the country’s water supply would not be reduced.
“The center of our planning is to manufacture our own produce so that we will no longer need to rely on importation,” Marcos said.
“We have seen what happened when we relied too much on importation during the lockdown when we were unable to import, we experienced difficulties in our food supply. Prices even increased,” the Chief Executive said.
Marcos said the country needs to have local solutions to the challenges that the people will face in the coming years.
According to PAGASA’s climate forecasts, El Niño is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2023, specifically between July and September, and continue until early 2024.
El Niño is a meteorological occurrence characterized by less-than-average precipitation, which can result in extended periods of dry weather and drought.