President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday assured Filipinos of sufficient rice supply despite the ongoing El Niño phenomenon.

In an interview in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, Marcos said the ample supply of the Filipino food staple was due to the new farming techniques and improved irrigation system adopted by the government.

“Kung ang pag-uusapan natin ay bigas, sapat naman ang ating supply. Hindi kailangang mag-alala ang mga tao. Sa katotohanan, ‘yung mga area na may patubig, tumaas pa ‘yung ating naging ani, ‘yung tons per hectare natin (If we are talking about rice, our supply is sufficient. People don’t need to worry. In fact, the areas with irrigation, our yield has increased our tons per hectare),” Marcos said.

However, the President acknowledged that some areas are struggling especially in provinces with low irrigation coverage, such as Occidental Mindoro.

To address this, he said the government is fast tracking the installation of solar-powered irrigation pumps in upland, non-irrigated areas to boost production, and building dams and impounding pond to help improve irrigation coverage in the agricultural province.

The President was in Occidental Mindoro to visit the farmlands affected by the drought, as well as to lead the distribution of government assistance to affected farmers.

The province is under a state of calamity due to the effects of El Niño.

He led the Bagong Pilipinas: Negosyo at Serbisyo Fair and Kadiwa ng Pangulo Diskwentro Caravan where PHP50,000 worth of assistance were given to micro, small and medium enterprises, under the product development package of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Meanwhile, over 2,000 beneficiaries received various government assistance to help tide them over the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. (PNA)