Damage to farm production, infrastructure reaches P1.18B — Agri Dept.

The value of damage sustained by the agriculture sector reached P 1.18 billion, the Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday and noted the estimate covered farm output and infrastructure destroyed by the recent flood and rain.   The value of agriculture production swept by flood and rain has reached P723 million, the department said.   The report covers losses in rice, corn, value crops, livestock, and fisheries in 27 provinces in Luzon and Visayas.   The rice sector was most heavily damaged with product loss estimated at P693 million, Agriculture Undersecretary for Field Operations Joel Rudinas noted in an emailed statement.   Losses to high value crops were placed at P11 million, P10.8 million for corn crops, P7 million for the fisheries sector, and P277,000 for livestock.   Damage to infrastructure was placed at P458 million, the department said, citing a request by the National Irrigation Administration for funds to repair and restore  facilities in eight regions (2, 3, 4A, 4B, 6, 11, and 12) including CAR.    The irrigation facilities that need repair in those areas serve 53,203 hectares, the Agriculture Department noted.   Rice crops damaged   Rice areas that received heavy blows from rains and flooding reached 74,558 hectares, of which 80 percent or 59,402 hectares were deemed partially damaged with some of the affected parts holding the promise of a recovery. But 15,448 hectares were fully damaged.   Rudinas said around 19,940 MT of palay were deemed lost.   According to the department, a chunk of the losses was in Central Luzon where 73 percent of the affected areas was recorded after two weeks of almost unceasing moonsoon rains and flooding.   On the other hand, the most devastated were the provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac and Bulacan where losses were placed at P281 million, P163 million and P104 million, respectively.   Other affected provinces in Luzon were Abra, Apayao, Mt. Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Aurora, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Rizal, Mindoro Occidental and Mindoro Oriental.   In the Visayas, affected were Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Negros Occidental, Rudinas said.   Corn crops lost   Meanwhile, the corn fields that were damaged reached 1,096 hectares, of which 93% or 1,016 hectares may yet recover, the Agriculture official said.   Some 780 MT corn in reproductive stage in 664 hectares were lost. Most affected were the provinces of Cagayan, Abra, and Kalinga which lost P4.5 million, P 3 million, and P 2.3 million, respectively.   Other corn affected areas were Ilocos Sur, Nueva Ecija, Aklan and Negros Occidental.   Hig value crops deemed lost   Damage to high value crops was reported in Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan and Rizal.   The affected crop fields totaled 710 hectares where 3,215 MT of high value crops were deemed lost. Benguet, which lost P 10.75 million or 97 percent of total losses, was the area most affected by the weather disturbance, Rudinas said.   Fisheries and livestock destroyed   The fisheries subsector sustained P7.32 million in losses, mainly in damaged fishponds, fish cages containing a variety stock like milkfish, tilapia, siganids, catfish, prawns, crabs, as well as seaweed farms, according to the report.   Pangasinan was significantly damaged, accounting for 79 percent of the loss valued at P5.78 million. The balance came from losses in Antique, Cagayan and La Union.   Livestock and poultry were lost in Region IVA (Cavite, Batangas, Rizal) and Region I (Ilocos Sur) where cattle, carabao, goat, swine, chicken, ducks died during the flood, Rudinas said.   Farm-to-market roads and poultry houses were destroyed in the province of Ilocos Sur and Rizal. Together with destroyed irrigation facilities, the losses were estimated at P 459.28 million, the Agriculture Department said. — VS, GMA News