AN aerial shot of a rain-fed rice farm in Barangay Tigbawan, Pigcayawan, Cotabato. (Keith Bacongco)
By Keith Bacongco
Published Oct 12, 2026 06:07 pm
PIGCAWAYAN, Cotabato Province – Amid the threat of the El Niño, many farmers in Cotabato took a risk and opted to plant rice for the next cropping season as many areas still have enough water supply for irrigation.
But some farmers are still contemplating if they will plant or not, depending on the availability of the water for irrigation.
One of them is Joseph Ragonton of Barangay Tigbawan here who is still waiting for more rains to come before preparing his farm for the next planting cycle.
While he is aware of the possible impact of El Niño in the coming weeks, Ragonton emphasized that, as a farmer, he has to take a gamble to survive.
“We are worried about the possible impact of El Niño. Because as you can see now, water levels in our rivers have drastically dropped. But you are not a real farmer if you will not take a gamble,” Ragonton said.
Tigbawan is one of the villages in this rice-producing town that rely on rain for irrigation. Some areas depend on irrigation systems under the National Irrigation Administration.
Ragonton said that if they cannot plant this season, they might wait until the dry spell is over by the end of the first quarter next year. For now, they might plant heat-resistant crops to survive, according to him.
Board Member Rosalie Hallado-Cabaya, chairwoman of the provincial council’s committee on agriculture, said that based on monitoring of the provincial government, many of the farmers in the irrigated areas have taken a gamble to plant amid the very strong El Niño forecast.
Cabaya relayed that the NIA in the province has assured the farmers that there is still enough water supply to irrigate the rice farms.
“But they were also told to plant heat-resistant varieties as well as varieties that can be harvested in 90 days so that they will not be affected by the dry spell,” she added.
The Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) has issued an advisory that El Nino is expected to intensify into very strong between September and December and could persist through the first half of 2027.
Aside from this town, Cabaya noted that many farmers in most irrigated areas of Carmen, M’lang, Matalam, Midsayap, Libungan, Pikit, and Tulunan have already planted rice right after the harvest period last September.
“In upland areas, we advised the farmers to plant heat-resistant crops instead of upland rice varieties and proper management of water source,” she added.
Amid the possible impact of El Niño, Cabaya said that many farmers still availed of the Cotabato Rice Revolution Program (CRRP), which provides fertilizer under a "2-2-2 scheme" involving the provincial government and 15 participating local government units (LGUs).
Under the provincial government program, farmers received six sacks of fertilizer for every hectare of rice farm – two each from the provincial government, the municipal government, and the Department of Agriculture.
However, Cabaya clarified that only those areas with enough water supply were prioritized in the program.
The provincial legislator disclosed that ongoing dredging operations in marshy areas and waterways could also help in sustaining the water supply for the farmers.
With the dredging operations, Cabaya said, water is impounded into these deep waterways and can be a source of water to irrigate nearby rice farms.
Carmen Agricultural Resources and Development Multi-Purpose Cooperative chairman Nasser Ali said that many of his members here and neighboring areas in the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (SGA-BARMM) have also planted rice since September.
Ali, who is based in Carmen, said that his fellow cooperative members have a total of 150 hectares of ricefields and rely on the irrigation system from the Malitubog-Maridagao River Irrigation.
“We are hoping that by the time our rice will reach flowering and productive stages, there’s still enough water. Otherwise, it will be a disaster. But we are farmers, we are used to taking this kind of risk,” he said.
