By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In the wake of consecutive storms and the concurrent southwest monsoon (habagat) that brought devastation to several areas in Luzon and Visayas, the Department of Agriculture (D.A.) called for an accelerated assessment of the agricultural damages brought about by recent bad weather.
This, as Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. urged regional offices to facilitate the immediate rollout of assistance to affected farmers and fisherfolk, in support of ongoing disaster relief operations.
According to the D.A.’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center bulletin released Saturday, September 27, preliminary estimates place total agricultural and infrastructure losses at P1.38 billion. The figure reflects the combined impact of tropical cyclones Mirasol and Nando, along with habagat, across nine regions. The report notes that around 55,595 farmers and agricultural workers have been affected.
D.A. Regional Field Offices reported damage to approximately 47,723 hectares of farmland in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and SOCCSKSARGEN. Preliminary estimates point to production losses of 109,997 metric tons across rice, corn, high-value crops, and livestock and poultry.
The D.A. meanwhile noted that as of press time, the agency is still collating field reports from areas affected by Typhoon Opong, with an initial impact assessment slated for release Tuesday.
Among the various forms of assistance earmarked for distribution were the following:
- 142,219 bags of palay seeds
- 90,320 bags of corn seeds
- 40,518 kilograms of vegetable seeds
- 1.65 million fingerlings of tilapia, bangus, and carp
- Drug and biologics for livestock and poultry
- 2.4 million sacks of NFA rice
- Immediate provision of Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loans of up to P25,000 under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council
- Crop insurance indemnification through PCIC
The Department, through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, has also allocated P236 million in indemnification payments based on claims filed by roughly 25,800 farmers across eight regions affected by the recent weather events. Of this amount, P206 million is earmarked for rice-related losses. Around 17,600 insured farmers are from Regions I and II.
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