Damage to crops due to El Niño has so far reached P9 million in Calapan City, a city agriculture official said.

A total of 854 hectares of rice farms have been ravaged by the dry spell, which affects 18 villages in the city, said Florentino Dalisay, senior agriculturist of the City Agricultural Services Department.

He said the cost of damaged crops could still go up in the coming months as the impact of El Niño is expected to be felt until June.

This despite the fact that most rice lands in the city are irrigated, Dalisay said.

The affected villages are Comunal, Palhi, Sapul, Personas, Pachoca, Canubing I, Balite, Sta. Cruz, Nag-Iba 1, Guinobatan, Bayanan 1, Sta. Isabel, Gutad, Nag-Iba 2, Parang, Bulusan, Sta.Rita and Patas.

Mayor Doy Leachon ordered city officials to look into the needs of affected farmers and implement measures to mitigate the impact of the dry spell.