Iligan braces for El Niño’s impact on agriculture, electricity

ILIGAN CITY – The city government of Iligan is bracing for the impacts of the projected “super” El Niño on the area’s agriculture and electricity supply.

City officials discussed measures against El Niño’s impact during the 3^rd Quarter Meeting of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) last Monday.

Engr. Cristobal Tanael, of the City Agriculturist’s Office (CAO), said the effects of El Niño are already being felt through crop damage and reduced farm income in parts of the city.

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READ: Palace: Govt steps up preparations for ‘very strong’ El Niño

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“The impact of El Niño is significant—there is a lot of crop damage and reduced income. The major concern of our farmers is how they can recover the capital they invested in their crops,” Tanael said.

He noted the CAO will assist farmers affected by drought, including providing water tanks and sprayers and coordinating with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.

The office also encouraged farmers to plant drought-resistant crops and establish water reservoirs to cushion the impact of the dry spell, which so far affected 16 barangays, with Dulag, Mainit, Bunawan and Pugaan as the worst-hit.

For its part, the CDRRMC plans to write to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) to assess the impact of reduced water on hydroelectric power plants and determine possible implications for the city’s power supply. 

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In an advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that a moderate to strong El Niño is present in the Tropical Pacific.

Climate models predict that the ongoing El Niño “will continue until the first half of 2027 and may reach a very strong state before the end of 2026,” it added./coa