Agricultural damage and losses due to El Nino has reached over eight billion pesos, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Wednesday.

Total damage and losses amounting to P8.57 billion have been recorded due to the affected rice, corn, cassava, high value crops, as well as livestock and poultry.

"For rice, reported production losses due to El Niño is at 71,408 metric tons (MT), equivalent to 0.73 percent of its target production of 9.7 million MT for the 2nd Semester of 2026," it stated.

"As for corn, reported production losses have reached 132,290 MT, equivalent to around 1.50 percent of its target production of 8.8 million MT for 2026, the agency added.

According to DA, 288,058 farmers with 291,154 hectares (ha) of agricultural areas and 220,307 metric tons (MT) of volume of production losses were affected in Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region, Soccsksargen, and Caraga.

However, the agency noted that the recorded figures are still subject to validation.

Early this month, the state weather bureau reported that "recent atmospheric and oceanic indicators show that a strong to very strong El Niño is present in the Tropical Pacific."

Forecasts predicted that El Niño will continue until the first half of 2027 and may peak before the end of 2026. Robina Asido/PHS