'Labuyo' damage in crops 'negligible' — Agri chief

Typhoon Labuyo's damage to agriculture in Northern Luzon will have a “negligible” effect on this year's agriculture growth target, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said Friday.

“(The damage) is negligible to the national target,” Alcala said. “Based on experience, farmers affected by typhoons rebuild their homes in a week and return to the fields in the next.”

He noted that in affected cornfields, crops demolished by the storm can recover within 100 days.

Based on the report received by the Department of Agriculture (DA), Labuyo, which hit Northern Luzon last week, affected P571 million worth of agriculture assets in 5,645 hectares.

Affected commodities include rice, corn, vegetables, banana, fisheries, and livestock, it said.

Damaged were P92.43 million worth of palay crops in 12, 535 hectares, all of which have chances of recovery, it also said, adding damaged corn crops in 37, 621 hectares were valued at P348.64 million, only 458 hectares of which may not recover.

Farm output is seen to grow between three to five percent this year against 2.92 percent in 2012.

The DA projects palay production for 2013 may reach 19.45 million metric tons (MT), 2.3  percent higher than last year's output of 18.03 million MT. — KBK, GMA News