Typhoon Karding's damage to agri surges to P1.29B

Damage and losses to agriculture brought by Typhoon Karding (international name: Noru) have breached P1 billion given additional data from other regions, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported Tuesday.

The latest estimates released by the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DRRM) were hiked to P1.29 billion as of 1 p.m. on September 27, covering 141,312 hectares of agricultural areas across Luzon.

This includes areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Ilocos Region, the Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the Bicol Region.

The latest figures compare with the P160.1 million damage in the previous estimate of the DA issued at 5 p.m. on Monday, which only covered 16,659 hectares of agricultural areas.

The updated figures translate to a volume of production loss of 72,231 metric tons (MT) of commodities affecting 82,158 farmers and fisherfolk.

“The increase in overall damage and losses is due to additional reports on rice, corn, high value crops, livestock, and fisheries in all affected regions,” the DA said in an accompanying statement.

The biggest damage was recorded in rice, with 138,843 hectares affected. This translated to a volume loss of 63,115 metric tons equivalent to P959.8 million.

This was followed by high value crops which recorded P271.4 million in losses, fisheries with P17.0 million, corn with P40.5 million, and livestock and poultry with P0.56 million.

The agency said assistance is available to affected farmers and fisherfolk, including 133,240 bags of rice seeds; 5,729 bags of corn seeds; and 4,911 kilograms of assorted vegetable seeds.

It also has drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry, and fingerlings and assistance through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

The DA said it can also tap the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), and P500-million worth of Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also said it has allocated P1.1 billion for its disaster response and assistance to those hit by Typhoon Karding.

Typhoon Karding officially left the Philippine Area of Responsibility at 8 p.m. on Monday, affecting several areas in the Luzon region with at least eight reported dead.—AOL, GMA News