Losses incurred by farmers and fishermen due to the onslaught of Tropical Depression Usman have climbed to P431.21 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.
According to a January 2 report of the DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center, Usman affected 26,226 hectares of agricultural areas, 17,629 farmers and fishermen and damaged some 9,396 metric tons (MT) of crops.
The DA said the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes and Sorsogon reported increases in losses incurred by their rice, corn, livestock and fisheries subsectors.
The report indicated that the rice sector sustained the biggest damage at P366 million. The DA said the tropical depression destroyed 6,525 MT of palay planted in
21,441 hectares.
The DA said 13,127 rice farmers in the provinces of Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, Sorsogon and Samar were affected.
It added 2,779 corn farmers lost 286 MT of produce planted in 4,255 hectares in Albay, Camarines Sur and Masbate. Corn crops damaged were valued at P23 million.
Damage to high-value crops was estimated at P39.32 million with an estimated production loss of 2,585 MT in 529 hectares. The DA said 1,693 farmers in Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate and Sorsogon planting fruit trees, assorted vegetables and root crops reported production losses.
Insurance payment
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a statement that he has directed the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) to fast-track the damage assessment so that
insurance payments could be released immediately.
Piñol added that the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) has also been directed to prepare Survival and Recovery Loan Funds.
The agriculture chief said the National Food Authority has been ordered to monitor the rice supply situation and ensure that there is enough NFA rice in the market to prevent price increases.
He said the DA will dispatch recovery intervention teams on Thursday to provinces affected by the storm.
“The teams will be tasked to ensure that recovery interventions such as seeds and farm inputs are delivered immediately so the farmers could replant,” Piñol said.
“While the estimated damage to rice is very high, the farmers could still recover as most of the areas damaged have just been planted. The fast delivery of interventions is critical so that farmers could replant immediately,” he added.
‘So slow’
Citing the high death toll and damage to agriculture, militant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chided the Duterte administration for its “slow” response to Usman.
KMP said farmers affected by the tropical depression will have to face new hardships this year, as heavy rains and floods destroyed their crops, properties and farm infrastructure.
Almost 46,000 families or close to 200,000 individuals were affected by the tropical depression.
Citing official government reports, Usman caused 75 confirmed casualties while 16 persons remain missing after heavy rains, flooding and landslides battered Bicol, Samar and Southern Luzon provinces.
“Immediate aid to farmers affected by Usman is necessary,” said KMP Secretary-General Antonio Flores.
The group said key government agencies, particularly Malacañang, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) were not on top of the situation when Usman entered the Philippine area of responsibility.
“More than the usual monitoring and obligatory text alerts, Malacañang, DILG, NDRRMC, and key agencies obviously [slackened off] while Usman is battering several provinces. The high death rate is a proof of this negligence,” Flores said.
According to Flores, Malacañang, Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año and Defense Secretary and concurrent NDRRMC Chairman Delfin N. Lorenzana “slept on their jobs.”
Image credits: CNN Philippines Photo