DAMAGE to the country’s agriculture sector from three successive tropical storms and the southwest monsoon has climbed to P1.12 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said at the weekend.
The agency said 45,408 farmers and fishermen were affected, with damage covering 43,741 hectares of farmland — mostly rice fields. Of the 41,189 hectares of affected rice areas, 32,445 hectares were partially damaged and still have recovery potential, while 8,744 hectares were completely lost.
Estimated rice production losses reached 19,819 metric tons, equivalent to about a third of the country’s daily consumption and valued at P664.4 million, the DA said.
High-value crops across 918 hectares suffered losses amounting to 4,509 metric tons and were valued at P162.2 million. Corn farms covering 1,613 hectares posted an estimated loss of P55.7 million. Fisheries were also heavily affected, with losses pegged at P202.4 million and 1,436 fishermen affected.
Regions affected include the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and Soccsksargen.
The DA said it would distribute P653 million worth of assistance in the form of seeds, livestock, fingerlings and other agricultural inputs to aid recovery.
The National Food Authority has released 43,136 bags of rice to the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, Soccsksargen and Metro Manila. Central Luzon received the biggest allocation, which was distributed through the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The Agricultural Credit Policy Council has allotted P400 million in zero-interest loans for affected farmers and fishermen.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. estimates initial indemnity payouts for 45,980 insured farmers at P268 million.
In a separate report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll from the combined effects of storms Crising, Dante and Emong, as well as the enhanced southwest monsoon, had climbed to 30.
Thirteen of the deaths — nine in the National Capital Region, two in Central Luzon, one in Northern Mindanao and one in Caraga — have been confirmed.
The NDRRMC was still verifying six deaths in Western Visayas, four in Calabarzon, three in the Negros Island Region, two in Northern Mindanao, one in Mimaropa and one in the Davao Region.
The total number of affected families has reached 5.57 million from 1.54 million families across 6,053 villages in 17 regions. Damaged houses stood at 3,592,643 of which were totally destroyed. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza