THE damage caused by El Niño to the farm sector has reached nearly P8 billion, but the Department of Agriculture (DA) said its production goals for 2019 will still be achieved despite the losses incurred by rice and corn farmers.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the DA has already extended financial support to farmers and fishermen affected by the weak El Niño. Emergency loans and indemnification provided by government amounted to P360 million.
“To date, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council [ACPC] has allotted P95.875 million of financial assistance under the Survival and Recovery Assistance [SURE] Program to benefit 3,835 affected farmers,” Piñol said in a social-media post on Thursday evening.
“In addition, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation [PCIC] has paid P264.515 million of insurance to 24,119 farmers,” he added.
As of April 25, Piñol said farm production losses due to El Niño have reached P7.96 billion, nearly 40 percent over the last reported crop damage by the DA and is 53 times higher than the initial figure of P150 million it reported in March.
The DA said 277,890 hectares of farms were damaged by the extreme heat. Production losses have reached 268,656 metric tons (MT).