00:00 [Music]
00:07 In the midst of the rain, the issue of aluminum became a hot topic
00:11 that is expected to have an effect especially in the agriculture sector.
00:16 But the problem that farmers are facing is still possible to be solved by changing climate.
00:23 And for our Climate Change Special Report Series,
00:26 we have a report from the GMA Integrated News Weather Center.
00:31 And it is brought to you by Maureen Shrivers.
00:34 [Music]
00:41 Dry rice fields were burned and scattered due to the heat.
00:48 They died and were not affected by the floods.
00:53 That's just a few of the effects of the El Niño on different parts of the country in 2019.
00:59 In just 7 months, almost P8 billion was spent on agriculture.
01:07 51 local government units were buried in the state of Calamity.
01:12 Our flood was quite severe.
01:14 We had typhoons that were severe like the one in Ompong and Usman.
01:19 But wait, what is El Niño again?
01:22 According to experts, this is the abnormal heat of the sea temperature in the Central and Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.
01:30 So think of it like the Pacific Ocean is in a flood.
01:34 And that heat is caused by extreme weather patterns
01:40 that bring either drought or heavy rain.
01:45 El Niño could prolong
01:48 and possibly last until the first quarter of 2024.
01:52 In the second wave of El Niño in the country,
01:55 Mindanao was the most affected according to the forecast.
02:00 In normal times,
02:02 there is less rain in Mindanao compared to the whole country.
02:06 It receives less.
02:08 It is more likely to decrease and go back to dry spell and drought.
02:13 Even in the strongest El Niño of the 20th century from 1997 to 1998,
02:19 Mindanao was among the most affected.
02:23 That is why some were worried about the affected El Niño,
02:27 particularly in Zamboanga Peninsula Region,
02:30 where the value of Pinsala is more than P300 million.
02:35 My fellow countrymen, let me go to one of the provinces that was heavily affected by El Niño in 2019 here in Zamboanga Peninsula,
02:44 Zamboanga, Cebu.
02:46 This is where I met the farmer Julius,
02:54 who planted rice in 2019.
02:58 When the El Niño came, the rice was still small.
03:02 It was not growing because it was hot and it did not bear fruit.
03:08 He could not repay the P15,000 he had earned
03:13 and he was forced to plant mung beans.
03:16 Now, due to the early feeling of the El Niño,
03:20 instead of May, they started planting in July.
03:24 We need to have rain.
03:26 Because if there is no rain,
03:28 we cannot plant rice
03:30 because we cannot put water here.
03:33 The rice was also planted in September.
03:37 It is also possible that he will not be able to reach the target of 60 sacks of rice
03:43 because the rice plantations are starting to dry up.
03:47 The water here needs to be full so that it will not die easily.
03:58 This is what Julius was saying earlier,
04:00 that their rice is already drying up
04:02 and we can see that the soil is no longer hydrated.
04:07 For now, the Department of Agriculture is preparing in Zamboanga Peninsula.
04:12 75 to 80 percent, we are really prepared for that.
04:15 For example, the purchase of drought-resistant varieties,
04:19 open pollinated varieties for corn,
04:22 and also drought-resistant vegetables.
04:28 There is also regular cloud seeding to address the lack of water.
04:34 While the President,
04:36 only in May, he ordered the formation of a group to move
04:40 to reduce the effect of El Niño in the country.
04:43 The agencies have given the means to save water,
04:49 but the government is now monitoring more on the effect only.
04:53 Here in the Climate Change Commission, we already have the National Climate Change Action Plan
04:57 on how our government and our communities can prepare
05:02 for the various challenges of climate change.
05:05 According to some studies,
05:07 El Niño is still being affected by the changing climate or climate change.
05:12 The return period of strong El Niño events is getting shorter,
05:16 which is more intense and more severe.
05:19 Every 2 to 7 years, El Niño should be affected by the change in the Philippines,
05:25 according to the studies.
05:26 And every 10 to 15 years, strong El Niño should be affected.
05:32 But there is a chance that El Niño will only be affected once in the country.
05:39 And it's only been 5 years since the next strong El Niño happened in 2009 to 2010,
05:47 and 2015 to 2016.
05:50 And if El Niño is getting worse because of this,
05:54 what happens next is that the area that can be planted will be reduced,
05:58 the soil moisture will be reduced.
06:00 Maybe next time, not only the farmers will not be able to harvest,
06:07 but also the Filipino's pockets and pockets.
06:11 It has a domino effect across the economy and the nation.
06:16 For GMA Integrated News, I'm Maureen Shrivers,
06:20 for 24 Hours.
06:23 [Foreign Language]
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06:31 For Kapuso Abroad, visit GMA Pinoy TV at www.gmanews.tv.
