The Philippines has already lost more than P4.7 billion worth of crops due to the El Niño phenomenon since February last year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Wednesday. Department data showed that the prolonged dry spell affected 222, 781 hectares across the country, causing damage to 349,620 metric tons of crops or P4.77 billion in losses from February 2015 to February 2016. For 2016, the damage was registered at P1.343 billion, covering a total of 76,593 hectares in eight regions. DA figures showed that as of February 26, 54,619 farmers lost more than 119,000 metric tons (MT) in production. Northern Mindanao (Region 10) suffered the most with damage worth P358.4 million. This was followed by Western Visayas with P356.56 million; Soccsksargen with P232.89; ARMM with P214.6 million; Mimaropa with P154.19 million; Zamboanga with P14.02 million; Ilocos with P10.27 million; and Caraga with P2.99 million. The rice sector was damaged the most with a  P864.37-million or 50,494-MT production loss. The corn sector lost P477.48 million or 56,455 MT and high value crops lost P2.07 million or 12,390 MT. The DA has already started its cloud seeding operations in affected areas. Source - gmanetwork.com