MANILA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The El Nino dry spell and ensuring drought have caused over 1.75 billion pesos (roughly 31 million U.S. dollars) in damage to Philippine agriculture, a senior government official said Wednesday.

This year's losses due to El Nino are still low compared to 2009 when the damage to agriculture reached 17 billion pesos (302 million dollars), Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama said, citing data from the Philippines' Department of Agriculture.

Villarama, who also serves as the spokesperson for the government's Task Force El Nino, said eight regions across the archipelagic country suffered the worst, affecting around 30,000 farmers.

Villarama said that 67 provinces are still reeling from different stages of the El Nino phenomenon -- dry spells, dry conditions, and then drought. Thirty of these provinces are still in the drought stage, he added. Enditem

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