Crop damage due to typhoons hits P744M

Damage to agriculture caused by Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong) and Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) hit P743.83 million, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The DA said its updated estimates for crop damage totaled P188.27 million for Uwan and P555.56 million for Tino.

According to the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Operations Center, damage from Uwan by volume was 10,839 metric tons (MT) of rice, corn, cassava, high-value crops and livestock, affecting 6,580 farmers.

Uwan affected an estimated 3,905 hectares of farmland in the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas regions.

Meanwhile, the DA upgraded its damage estimate for Tino to P555.56 million. This typhoon affected 20,362 farmers and crop volume of 21,971 MT of rice, corn, high-value crops, cassava, livestock and poultry.

Tino affected an estimated 10,634 hectares of farmland in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, the Western, Eastern and Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.

The DA said it has prepared P422.8 million in production inputs for affected farmers, in addition to its quick-response funds, which can be tapped for rehabilitation and recovery of affected areas, and indemnification through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.

Affected farmers may also apply for zero-interest loans of up to P25,000 under the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, payable over three years.

The DA said it has started providing hybrid rice seed and fertilizer to farmers affected by Tino in Palawan, Occidental Mindoro, and Oriental Mindoro.

The DA said it has also started distributing corn seed to farmers in the municipalities of Allacapan, Gattaran and Rizal, Cagayan, which were along the track of Uwan. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel