Typhoon “Karding” damaged P141.38 million worth of crops across four regions in Luzon, based on the initial assessment of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DA-DRRM OpCen) said Karding affected 16,229 hectares of farms with a total production loss of 5,886 metric tons (MT).
The affected regions were Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, according to the DA-DRRM OpCen’s report issued on Monday noon.
“Affected commodities include rice, corn and high value crops. These values are subject to validation. Additional damage and losses are expected in areas affected by Karding,” it said.
The DA-DDRRM OpCen’s report showed that 76.11 percent of the damage and losses recorded in agriculture was in the rice sector.
The report showed that Karding damaged 5,877 MT of rice across 15,365 hectares of farms. The estimated damage and losses in rice production was at P107.6 million.
The DA-DRRM OpCen report showed that the affected rice farms were located in Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Aurora, Quezon, Abra, Apayao and Kalinga.
The DA-DRRM OpCen said the high value crops sector incurred P24.55 million in losses after 88 hectares of assorted vegetables with an estimated production volume of 760 MT were damaged by Karding.
The DA-DRRM OpCen added that the damage to the corn sector was initially estimated at P9.22 million. The DA-DRRM OpCen showed that the estimated corn volume loss was at 10 MT across 776 hectares of farms.
“The Department of Agriculture, through its Regional Field Offices [RFOs], is conducting assessment of damage and losses brought by Superyphoon [STY] Karding in the agri-fisheries sector,” it said.
“The DA continuously coordinates with concerned NGAs, [national government agency] LGUs [local government unit] and other DRRM-related offices for the impact of Karding, as well as available resources for interventions and assistance,” it added.
Interventions
The DA-DRRM OpCen said the DA has readied various interventions to help farmers and fisherfolk cope with the damage caused by Karding. The DA has a P500 million worth of quick response fund to rehabilitate the affected areas, according to the DA-DRRM OpCen.
The DA-DRRM OpCen said the DA will distribute 133,240 bags of rice seeds, 5,729 bags of corn seeds and 4,911 kilograms of assorted vegetable seeds to the affected farmers.
The DA-DRRM OpCen added that it has available stocks of drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry raisers as well as fingerlings for affected fisherfolk.
Furthermore, the DA-DRRM OpCen said affected farmers and fisherfolk could avail of an emergency loan through the Survival and Recovery program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council.
In a related development, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) said it has not recorded any damage on the country’s major dams and irrigation facilities.
Rice Watch Action Network Executive Director Hazel Tanchuling said Karding came at the worst time since farmers in Central Luzon were about to harvest their palay in two weeks time.
“A lot of the palay farms were for harvesting. A lot of the damaged palay were up for harvesting. We expect the damage and losses to be quite huge,” Tanchuling told the BusinessMirror.
“Farmers are now rushing to salvage whatever palay can be saved to be dried and sold eventually. If the typhoon hit the farms during the growing stage, farmers would be able to replant. But at this point, it’s already harvest season,” Tanchuling added.
Image credits: Malacañang Palace