The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said the damage to the agriculture sector by Typhoon “Agaton” has reached P423.8 million with 6,557 farmers affected in three regions.
In its latest damage report, the DA said total agricultural damage and losses in Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Caraga have reached P423.8 million with production losses estimated at 25,165 metric tons (MT) across 10,920 hectares of agricultural areas.
“Affected commodities include rice, corn, high-value crops, and livestock. These values are subject to validation. Additional damage and losses are expected in areas affected by Agaton,” it said.
“The DA continuously coordinates with concerned NGAs [National Government Agencies], LGUs [local government units] and other DRRM [disaster risk and reduction management]-related offices for the impact of Agaton, as well as available resources for interventions and assistance,” it added.
The DA report showed that the rice sector accounted for 95.21 percent or about P403.5 million of the recorded agricultural damage and losses as of April 13.
Agaton damaged 10,729 hectares of rice farms with an estimated production loss of 25,165 MT, according to the DA report.
The DA said the corn sector recorded P3.2 million worth of production losses after the typhoon damaged 38 MT of produce across 122 hectares of land. The DA added that high-value crops farmers lost was at P17.1 million with reported volume loss of 388 MT of vegetables, cacao, and fruits across 69 hectares of land.
The DA said 20 heads of chickens worth P5,000 were affected by the typhoon.
The DA said it has prepared various assistance to affected farmers and fishermen, including seeds of rice, corn and assorted vegetables as well as drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry raisers.
The DA added the Agricultural Credit Policy Council’s Survival and Recovery (SURE) program is on standby, while the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) has sufficient funds to indemnify affected farmers.
The DA also disclosed that it has a standby Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of the affected areas by Agaton.