DA: Agri damage from storms, habagat tops P1B

MANILA, Philippines — Agricultural damage from typhoons Luis and Maymay, along with the enhanced southwest monsoon, has hit P1.03 billion, with over half stemming from damaged rice (palay).

This marked a nearly 50-percent increase from the P689.66 million in damage estimated by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as of Aug. 13.

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In its latest bulletin issued on Monday, the DA said the weather disturbances had affected 30,073 farmers, 25,662 hectares of agricultural land and 25,280 metric tons (MT) of agricultural and fishery products.

Of the total losses, 57.28 percent, or P589.44 million, came from rice. Production losses in the sector reached 16,105 MT across 23,206 hectares of farmland.

High-value crops accounted for another 30.42 percent of the total damage, followed by irrigation facilities at 4.65 percent and corn at 4.49 percent.

Fisheries losses reached P9.26 million, while damage to livestock amounted to P6.91 million, involving 6,036 heads.

The DA recorded these losses in seven regions: Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas.

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“Further damage and losses are expected in affected regions as assessment and validation are ongoing,” the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said.

To support affected farmers, the DA said it has distributed P177.67 million worth of agricultural inputs, such as rice, corn and vegetable seeds. The National Food Authority also distributed more than 1,000 sacks of palay-milled rice in La Union and Batanes.

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More than 5,000 insured farmers and fisherfolk also stand to receive P35.67 million in indemnification through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp., while the Agricultural Credit Policy Council is offering loans of up to P25,000 under its Survival and Recovery Loan Program.

The DA said it is also monitoring commodity prices and ensuring continuous supply despite the production losses.

Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he had ordered all DA units to expedite assistance to farmers affected by the typhoons and southwest monsoon.

“We need our people on the ground to move quickly so affected farmers can get the assistance they need, especially insurance claims and credit support,” Tiu Laurel had said. “The faster we process these, the faster farmers can recover and get back to production.” /pai