Mayor Darwin Estrañero on Monday said they continue to assess the impact of El Niño to farmers here but assured available funding to help them.

“The effect is already alarming. We assure our farmers that we will utilize the livelihood fund of the city, aside from the calamity fund which is about PHP20 million,” he said.

He added the city government has a PHP75 million calamity fund but can only dispense about PHP20 million or about 30 percent to ensure that funds will remain available for other needs in the future.

Estrañero said it is in touch with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to look at the possibility of additional assistance from the agency.

Kalinga, specifically Tabuk City, is the Cordillera Administrative Region’s rice granary.

It produces about 100 tons of rice during the wet season when typhoons spare the province, and about 90 tons during the summer season.

Rice farmers here have two cropping seasons, with most of the rice farms being irrigated.

Estrañero said they are also working with the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) to extend the communal irrigation facilities to the villages, which is a long-term plan they are looking into, not just due to the El Niño.

“We are expecting a decrease in (rice) production because water use is not confined to this city, but even provinces in Region 2,” he said. (PNA)

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