ILOILO CITY — The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation 6 (PCIC-6) has allotted PHP76 million to indemnify farmers affected by three storms that consecutively hit different areas in Western Visayas during the last weeks of December until first week of January.
In an interview, PCIC-6 OIC-regional manager Eva Ulie Laud said the storms Urduja, Vinta and Agaton have damaged a total of 11, 054 hectares of land of 12, 600 farmers in the region.
Laud said PHP51 million was allotted to compensate 7, 966 farmers in the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental with a total 7,054 hectares of damaged land by tropical depressions Urduja and Vinta.
Tropical depression Agaton, meanwhile, damaged 4,000 hectares of land of 4, 634 farmers in Aklan, Capiz and Northern Iloilo. PCIC allotted PHP25 million indemnity for the affected farmers.
“We have already deployed adjusters on the field to assess the reported damaged of the farmers. Once they will be back maybe in 15 days, we could already release the assistance to the affected farmers,” Laud added.
Laud said each farmer could receive an average compensation of PHP6,500 per hectare from PCIC.
To date, PCIC-6 registered about 290,000 farmers and fisherfolks in the region insured under PCIC’s Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).
Last year, Laud said, that they were able to extend PHP330 million assistance to 55,000 farmers in the region with a total damaged area of 48,000 hectares.
This year, PCIC here allotted PHP3.7 billion for the indemnity of the 290,000 insured farmers and fisherfolks in the region.
Laud encouraged more farmers and even fisherfolks to register and avail of the insurance offered by PCIC.
They may visit the PCIC for the needed forms and requirements or download them online. They may also visit their municipal agriculture’s office for information.
“It will really help them in times of calamity,” Laud added.
PCIC is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture mandated to provide insurance protection to the country’s agricultural producers, particularly the subsistence farmers against crop losses arising from natural calamities such as typhoons, floods, drought, earthquakes and volcanic eruption.
It also provides insurance protection to farmers whose crops were affected by plant diseases and pest infestation. (PNA)
