El Niño to reduce vegetable production by 10 tons daily

CEBU, Philippines – Vegetable production in Dalaguete town, considered as Cebu's vegetable basket, may drop by 10 tons every day if the hot weather brought by the El Niño worsens in the coming months.

Jose Dizon Dee Ancla, vice president of Dalaguete Vegetable Growers Association (DAVEGA), said Dalaguete farmers normally produce a total of 60 to 90 tons of vegetables per day.

But the daily production may go down to 50 tons because of El Niño, Ancla said.

"The production will decrease but just a little," he said in Cebuano in an interview.

Ancla said the "abnormal" hot weather could also have a significant impact on vegetable prices and supply.

He, however, assured that prices of vegetables in the market are currently stable.

Ancla, who also owns a farm in Dalaguete, claimed that not all farmers in his town are already equipped with knowledge on how to mitigate the effects of El Niño.

Farmers who belong to various associations are fortunate as they have training on El Niño mitigation, he said.

He added that DAVEGA, which has around 180 farmer members, has been doing awareness campaign on El Niño. (FREEMAN)