In preparation for the heavy rains from the arrival of the La Niña phenomenon, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has directed its field offices across the country to prepare for adverse effects of heavy downpour, which it said, is expected to cause greater agricultural damage than the El Niño. 

“Nag-El Niño reporting pa rin tayo pero nasa La Niña watch na tayo (We're still doing El Niño reporting, but we're already on La Niña watch). And we are already preparing, the regional field offices have been instructed by the Secretary to prepare for the La Niña),” DA Assistant Secretary for Operations U-Nichols Manalo said during an interview on Thursday, May 9.

La Niña’s agricultural damage, according to the DA, is expected to be way higher than the damage caused by the dry spell.

On May 2, the DA said El Niño damage to agriculture has swelled to P5.90 billion, affecting 113,585 farmers and fisherfolk. The government had provided a total of P2.18 billion in interventions for devastated farmers and fisherfolk.

“Mas malaki yung damage ng La Niña [kumpara sa damage ng El Niño] ( The damage caused by La Niña is bigger compared to the damage caused by El Niño),” he said, citing past episodes of the two weather phenomenons.

Manalo said the agriculture department has been coordinating with farmer groups for drainage water management for farms.

The DA is now looking into areas that have been affected by La Niña in its past 16 episodes in the country, he added.

“When we had this El Niño, ang pinaka-message is water management. I-manage mo ang available irrigation water. Ngayon, maraming tubig nadadating because of La Niña (When we had this El Niño, the main message was water management. You need to manage the available irrigation water. Now, there's a lot of water coming because of La Niña),” he said.

“So same pa rin. Water management pa rin, lalo na yung drainage management naman sa mga farms. So how we prepared for the El Niño, closer coordination with the farmer groups kasi silang nasa baba, with the local government units and also with our counterpart from other government agencies (So it's still the same. Water management is still important, especially drainage management on farms. So how we prepared for the El Niño, closer coordination with the farmer groups because they are the ones on the ground, with the local government units, and also with our counterparts from other government agencies).”

In the Philippines, above-average rainfall is usually brought about by La Niña. This may result in an upsurge in flooding, landslides, and agricultural damage.

La Niña is not all bad as it replenishes water reserves and helps agriculture in areas where crops depend on regular rainfall.