Philippine rice farmers bear brunt of expensive fuel and El Nino

Output could halve this year if government does not act: Agriculture Department A Filipino farmer sprays fertilizer on his rice crop. Many farmers fear the energy crisis and the looming El Nino will leave them out of pocket. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by AP and Getty Images) NUEVA ECIJA, Philippines — Elvira Fadriquelan, 60, has spent more than half her life farming rice on nearly a hectare of land in Lubao, Pampanga. In this town, some 100 kilometers north of Manila, farmers' fields are in their backyards. That proximity once promised security, but now serves as a daily reminder of mounting debts.

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