The rainy season in the Philippines lasts from May to early October. The harvest of the second rice crop was completed in April, followed by the second maize crop one month later. 

The country experienced a drier (RAIN -7%) and slightly warmer (TEMP +0.2℃) period. Compared to the average of the past 15 years, the radiation (RADPAR) for the country increased by 4% and the resulting biomass (BIOMSS) increased by 3%. The country experienced several natural disasters, including the strong typhoon Surigae in mid-April and the tropical storm Dante in late May. The cropped arable land fraction was near average and reached 100%, and the maximum VCI for the country was at 0.95.

According to the NDVI profile of the country, the NDVI values kept trending slightly below average starting in late April. In particular, the values in mid-July were significantly below average, which might have been due to cloud cover in parts of the satellite images. Considering the spatial pattern of the NDVI profiles, the NDVI values for most of the crop land were stable fluctuating around the average level during the whole reporting period. About 9.1% of the crop land (mainly in the northern part of Mindanao) experienced a significant drop in NDVI in mid-April, which seems to have been caused by Typhoon Surigae or cloud cover in the satellite images. The storm Dante caused negative NDVI departures for the east of Luzon that was visible until mid-July.  Approximately 9.2% of the crop land, mainly in central Misamis, had a decrease in NDVI of about 0.5 in mid-July, presumably due to cloud cover.  In general, the crop conditions were normal for those regions that were not affected by Dante.

Regional analysis

Based on the cropping systems, climatic zones and topographic conditions, three main agro-ecological regions can be distinguished for the Philippines. They are the Lowlands region (northern islands), the Hilly region (Island of Bohol, Sebu and Negros), and the Forest region (mostly southern and western islands). All the regions are characterised by a stable  cropped arable land fraction (CALF almost 100%) and a high maximum VCI value (VCIx ⩾0.93).

The Lowland region experienced a decrease in precipitation (RAIN -17%) and a slight rise in temperature (TEMP +0.2℃). The radiation (RADPAR) for the region increased by 5% compared to the 15YA, which resulted in a 3% increase in estimated biomass (BIOMSS) . 

Compared to previous 15 years, the Hilly region underwent a drier (RAIN, -6%) and slightly warmer (TEMP +0.1℃) period, accompanied by above-average radiation (RADPAR +4%). As a result, the estimated biomass (BIOMSS) increased by 4% . The NDVI for the region was close to average during most of the time except in late May and late June.

For the Forest region, the rainfall (RAIN) increased by 4%  and the temperature  was close to average (TEMP +0.1℃). The radiation (RADPAR) rose by 3%  and the resulted biomass (BIOMSS) increased by 3% compared to the average level. As the NDVI profile shows, the regional NDVI remained close to average during the whole reporting period, which indicates the crop conditions for the region were normal.

Figure 3.35 Philippines' crop condition, April-July 2021

(a) Phenology of major crops

(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI     (c) Maximum VCI

(d) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA      (e) NDVI profiles

(f) Time series temperature profile (left) and rainfall profile (right)

(g) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI (Lowlands region (left) and Hills region (right))

(h) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI (Forest Region)

Table 3.61 Philippines' agroclimatic indicators by sub-national regions, current season's values and departure from 15YA, April-July 2021

Table 3.62 Philippines' agronomic indicators by sub-natioanal regions, current season's values and departure from 5YA, April-July 2021