RELIEF DRIVE FOR FARMERS, FISHERS, AND PEASANT WOMEN AFFECTED BY EL NIÑO

Oplan Sagip Kanayunan and Tulong Anakpawis rural emergency relief operations are coordinating with the Youth Action on El Nino Network, the Southern Tagalog Serve The People Volunteer Corps (STP), and the Bayanihan Alay sa Sambayanan (BALSA) for the immediate relief for the victims of El Niño. Among the initial priority areas for immediate relief and assistance are the following areas:

Bulacan: 475 families in San Jose Del Monte and Malolos
Cagayan: 250 families
Oriental Mindoro: 2,428 families

You may choose to DONATE the immediate needs of El Nino-stricken farmers and fisherfolks. They are in urgent need of the following:

Food Packs other relief goods: (A standard relief pack contains 5 kilos of rice, canned goods, monggo, coffee, cooking oil, dried fish, etc. — in kind or cash equivalent).
You may also choose to SPONSOR A RELIEF PACK (equivalent to Php600/relief pack) for our farmers and fisherfolks.
Seeds – They need vegetable seeds for the next planting season
You may also DONATE cash to purchase and transport relief goods to the victims, to Sagip Kanayunan and Youth Action on El Nino Network through this account:

Overview And Brief Situation:
The 2023-2024 El Niño is one of the five strongest on record per the World Meteorological Organization. Latest government data has estimated that the agricultural sector’s losses as a result of El Niño’s effects have reached almost Php2.63 billion through the destruction of about 54,000 hectares and around 116,792 metric tons of crops. The lives and livelihoods of about 55,000 farmers and fisherfolk are in critical jeopardy. (Data as of April 1, from DA-DRRMO).

As El Niño continues to ravage crops in farmlands across the country, the peasant sector— the country’s most impoverished sector already suffer the effects of landlessness, a lack of support for agricultural development, and the damages brought about by climate change— faces ecological and economic disaster. Filipino peasant women, who are primarily responsible for feeding their families in addition to being the country’s food producers, are particularly vulnerable.

The Marcos administration has brazenly neglected to fulfill its duty to our food producers during this time of crisis, as farmers’ cries for rice subsidies and adequate cash assistance continue to fall on deaf ears. Farmers who received cash assistance reported that it only amounted to Php3,000 to Php5,000, despite the high production cost of palay (unhusked rice). Organizations of peasant women, farmers, and fisherfolk continue to call out the government for its neglect as well as its role in worsening the climate crisis through land-use conversion, plantation expansions, mining, logging, and other environmentally destructive practices.

The impact on vulnerable sectors such as farmers and fisherfolk of the lingering El Nino dry spell and droughts is grossly serious, as they do not possess any reserved resources or savings, but totally rely on the daily activities of farming and fishing. The heavy losses they are incurring due to El Nino’s agricultural damage, with the uncertainty on their future is an added moral distress to the victims. With each passing day, their losses are mounting up, and eventually, they will be engrossed in unrecoverable amounts of debt.

In light of this crisis, various organizations will conduct a relief drive for farmers, fisherfolk, and peasant women critically affected by El Niño; particularly, those in the provinces of Bulacan, Cagayan, Cavite, Occidental Mindoro, and Palawan. These relief operations will be conducted starting from the first week of May onwards and will be supported by food security and peasant advocates across a broad network of allies.

The relief drive will raise funds to support farmers, fisherfolk, peasant women, and their families amidst the ongoing El Niño, as food insecurity continues to worsen and food production costs continue to rise. It also highlights the necessity of demanding sufficient compensation and support for farmers and fisherfolk impacted by El Niño, as well climate justice against imperialist countries whose exploitation of Philippine resources destroys not only the ecosystem but the lives of rural communities that depend on the natural environment.

We are seeking your urgent support and assistance. For more details contact Sagip Kanayunan and/or the Youth Action on El Nino Network through our social media accounts.

GALLERY: ACTUAL EFFECTS OF EL NINO ON FARMERS, FISHERS AND PEASANT WOMEN

Even farm animals have nothing to eat as grasslands and other sources of water have dried up. (Bulacan)

Several months of lack of rain led to parched farmlands. (Bulacan)

Farmers in areas relying on rainwater for irrigation have incurred heavy losses and debts, and are experiencing hunger. (Bulacan)

Very dry farmlands (Cebu)

WATCH THIS VIDEO: A vegetable farm in Plaridel, Bulacan has dried up. Women farmers were not able to plant palay, tomatoes, string beans, and squash this planting season due to lack of irrigation water.

WATCH THIS VIDEO: Thousands of corn farmers in the Cagayan Valley region are reeling from the effects of El Nino. They are demanding immediate aid and rehabilitation.

WATCH THIS VIDEO: A fishpond, supposedly an alternative source of food and livelihood for fisherfolk in Cavite, has now turned into parched soil.

VIEW THIS GALLERY: Images documenting the extent and effects of the drought on vegetable farms in Cordillera provinces.

Oplan Sagip Kanayunan (Rescue Countryside) is a relief and rehabilitation effort to benefit peasant communities ravaged by typhoons, droughts, and other natural calamities. It is a combined effort of farmers, peasant women, fisherfolk organizations, agrarian reform advocates, institutions, church people, youth and students, and individuals.###