Aklan PB warns of possible food shortage in Boracay due to El Niño

Provincial Board member Soviet Russia Dela Cruz, chairman of the committee on agriculture, warned of possible food shortage in the resort island due to the El Niño phenomenon.

Dela Cruz said that already Boracay has been importing food supply from the provinces of Iloilo, Baguio, Davao, Capiz, and Mindoro among others.

The PAGASA earlier said that majority of the provinces in the country will be affected by the El Niño.

"Currently, the Provincial Board is enacting a budget of some PHP100 million for agriculture for the whole year of 2016. We are also looking at possibly sourcing out a budget from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to be used by the province for mitigation of the El Nino phenomenon," said Dela Cruz.

The provincial government has recently created a task force on El Niño.

"The task force also hopes of purchasing drilling equipment as soon as possible to be used for searching water supply for farmers and as potable water. Currently, farmers who could not be serviced by the National Irrigation Administration are advised to plant agricultural products that are not dependent on water," he said.