10/03/2026
🇵🇭 PHILIPPINES FARMERS: EL NIÑO PREPARATION
Plan planting around dependable water supplies. The priorities are conserving water, choosing suitable crops and protecting livestock before dry conditions worsen.
🌱 Choose seeds and planting dates carefully. Ask your municipal agriculture office about locally suitable, early-maturing or drought-tolerant varieties. Coordinate planting with irrigation availability; avoid starting a full rice crop without enough water to sustain it.
💧 Save and store water now. Repair leaking irrigation channels, strengthen field bunds and collect rainwater where practical. Coordinate water schedules with your irrigators’ association. For irrigated rice, use alternate wetting and drying only with proper guidance—protect crops from water stress during flowering and grain filling.
🌾 Keep moisture in the soil. Use rice straw or other suitable mulch around vegetables and fruit trees. Compost and organic matter can help soil retain moisture. Consider locally suitable crops requiring less water where rice irrigation cannot be sustained.
🐄 Protect livestock. Provide reliable clean drinking water, shade, good ventilation and adequate feed. Prepare for reduced pasture and forage availability.
🐛 Inspect fields frequently. Watch for rice bugs, armyworms, stem borers and rats. Report developing infestations early and coordinate pest management with nearby farmers. Adjust fertilizer applications with an agricultural technician as water availability changes.
📋 Arrange support before losses occur. Ask about crop insurance through PCIC, suitable seed supplies and available DA/LGU assistance. Confirm eligibility and enrollment deadlines before planting.
Planting decisions must be local: the best approach depends on the province, crop and whether the farm is rainfed or irrigated.
