MANILA -- The Marcos administration is continuously providing assistance to farmers affected by the El Niño phenomenon in Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and other regions.

Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama, the spokesman for the Task Force El Nino, said there are almost 4,000 farmers affected by the dry spell in the two regions.

“Mas qualitative po, binibigyan sila ng seeds na heat tolerant, binibigyan din ng domestic animals, may social protection, may financial aid although as I said I don’t know how much pero tuluy-tuloy po iyan,” Villarama said in a news forum on Saturday.

“Tapos bukod sa direct interventions for them, inaayos din po iyong mga irrigation canals pati iyong equipment themselves para matulungan po iyong mga greatly-affected farmers,” he said.

According to Villarama, the 41 provinces identified to be affected by El Nino have been receiving interventions from the government.

Among the problems include damage to agriculture or difficulty obtaining water, he said, noting that among the support include provisions of seeds and heat-tolerant crops.

“So, lahat po ng 41 provinces na naitala as of this time na apektado tinutulungan naman po ng Inter-Agency Task Force,” Villarama said.

Villarama said most of the provinces experiencing drought are in Luzon and already received interventions from the National Irrigation Administration and Department of Agriculture. (PND)