The Negros Oriental Office of the Provincial Agriculture is bracing for potential agricultural losses as a result of El Niño.

During last week’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) meeting, Provincial Agriculturist Nestor Villaflores forecasted a 50 to 70 percent decrease in rice and corn production.

According to AccuWeather, El Niño is a climate pattern that raises sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Such a system can contribute to drought conditions due to reduced rainfall.

The provincial official said, as a means of mitigating the said weather conditions, farmers will be provided “drought tolerant” varieties of rice, along with increasing small-scale irrigation systems.

Earlier, the Negros Occidental Office of the Provincial Agriculturist reported a total of 237.52 hectares of farmland in the province are currently affected by the ongoing dry spell.

It was previously reported, Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol advised the province to prepare for El Niño, which he said is expected to wane towards the end of April or May in other parts of the country, but the forecast is not good for Negros.

“The dry spell in Negros Occidental, Mindoro, and Palawan will linger until late November,” he said./WDJ