Scientists have predicted the upcoming El Nino weather pattern will be one of the strongest, if not the strongest experienced in the region, since 1997. The Philippines has since braced itself for prolonged droughts. The government has set up an El Nino task force last year, to help combat the effects of this weather phenomenon. The task force has encouraged farmers to switch to crops that require less water, but rice farmers are still having a hard time. "As of this time, our planting was delayed due to lack of water supply from the irrigation,” said Clement Salvador, a rice farmer. “What is happening, is that we are now depending on rain water. If there's no rain, we're totally at a loss." Mr Salvador is having a hard time planting his annual two rice crops, with a dry spell already delaying the planting of his first crop this year. He has also been limited to using only 20 to 30 per cent of his land. Forecasts of prolonged dry weather also means his yearly income from rice harvests will be reduced. Land usually set aside for rice fields will instead be used to plant vegetables this year, a crop farmers are unfamiliar with. Mr Salvador says that planting alternative produce will be a big risk, since many farmers have no experience on how to grow, market and sell them. He is on the same boat as an estimated 200 rice farmers who live in the area, and one of thousands nationwide who have braced themselves for a tough year. The Philippine weather bureau has announced that the drought could affect up to 32 provinces in the Philippines, particularly the northern farmland areas. The ripple effects of these are lower supplies of produce, such as rice, and possible price hikes. "When we talk about supply and demand we are going to look at how much we have in our warehouses. That’s why the national food authority is preparing on how to import some of the requirements, which might fall short in terms of local supply,” said Emerson Palad, Undersecretary in the Department of Agriculture. “Come September we will know whether we will have a big deficit or not in terms of how many farmers actually planted rice." Attempts to tackle the drought, such as cloud seeding, have also proven unsuccessful so far. These unfavourable weather conditions are expected to continue and scientists have predicted this year's El Nino could rival the record-breaking 1997 event, which saw weather patterns and temperatures wreaked havoc across the globe, from widespread droughts in the Philippines to fires in Australia. El Nino occurs on average every two to seven years, and usually lasts from between nine to 12 months. Sea surface temperatures warm up in the equatorial Pacific and cause heavy rains in some parts of the world and droughts elsewhere. Source - http://www.channelnewsasia.com