BANGKOK, Feb 22: A likely return of the “El Nino” climatic aberration could affect Asia’s rice harvest in 2002, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday.

The body’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific dealt with the issue in a relevant assessment of global paddy production released at its Bangkok headquarters.

Known to take place once every two to seven years, the climatic phenomenon last hit the region between 1997 and 1998, causing severe drought and damage to agricultural production in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.

“Based on recent oceanic and atmospheric observations, ‘El Nino’ might possibly return (in spring 2002), although there is still considerable uncertainty over its strength and amplitude,” the report said.

The 2002 paddy crop is already well underway in the southern hemisphere, with harvesting starting in Indonesia in February.

Concurrent excessive rains and an ‘El Nino’ re-occurrence could, however, stand in the way of the “ambitious target” of 53.9 million tons set by the Indonesian government in 2002 against the 2001 output of 50.1 million tons, the report said.

Uncertainty linked to ‘El Nino’ also surrounds the 2002 paddy crop in the Philippines, where the 2001 rice production was already negatively affected by the passing typhoon Lingling in November last year.—dpa