MANILA, May 21 (Xinhua) — The damage caused by the El Nino dry spell and drought to Philippine agriculture has reached 9.5 billion pesos (roughly 163 million U.S. dollars), the Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.
The El Nino weather phenomenon has left a trail of destruction, damaging 163,694 hectares of agricultural land in 13 regions across the country, and adversely affecting the livelihoods of at least