Rice subsector incurs P2.33B worth of damage from Yolanda – Agri Dept.

The rice subsector incurred P2.33 billion worth of damage from killer typhoon Yolanda which also snuffed the Philippines' dream of achieving self-sufficiency in the staple grain, the Department of Agriculture said Thursday. 

 

The damage sustained by the Agriculture sector Yolanda rose to P9.73 billion, with the rice subsector incurring the highest damage in terms of value, the department said.

 

Rice lands were destroyed in Regions 6, 7 and 8.  

 

Minus the output from Central Philippines, total rice production is expected to reach only 18.03 million metric tons this year – unchanged from 2012, according to Agriculture Department estimated.

 

This means the Philippine will be able to achieve 95 to 97 percent rice self sufficiency, said Agriculture Undersecretary Dante Delima.

 

"We can meet the domestic requirement with this level of production but we can only attain a 50-day buffer stock," said Delima, who also heads National Rice Program.

 

A 100 percent self-sufficiency level translates to meeting “… both the domestic requirement and the 90-day buffer stock requirement," he added.

 

According to the Agriculture Department, Yolanda destroyed 143, 774 metric tons (MT) of palay in 77, 476 hectares of rice land, of which 36, 038 hectares could still recover. 

 

Philippine is importing 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice in a government-to-government tender before the year ends in an effort to increase its buffer stock by 14 days.  

 

The National Food Authority (NFA) Council will likely buy the commodity from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam on the bases of existing procurement agreements with those countries. 

 

Delima said he asked the NFA to ensure that the first tranche of 300,000 MT be in the Philippines by December to support the relief operations in the Visayas. 

 

Before Yolanda struck, the Philippines was holding a buffer stock equivalent to at least 85 days in government warehouses and households. 

 

Losses incurred by the corn subsector reached P284.65 million equivalent to 22,119 MT in 20, 951 hectares, the department.  

 

The coconut subsector incurred P1.52 billion in damage from the typhoon, involving  41, 662 hectares of coconut plantations. 

 

In livestock and fisheries the production losses were estimated at P2.32 billion and P1.06 billion,

respectively, while the damage sustained by irrigation and farm infrastructure was placed P1.63 billion, according to latest estimates by the Agriculture Department. – VS, GMA News