Agri damage, losses due to Maymay, Neneng hit P594 million

Damage and losses to the agriculture sector brought about by Tropical Depression Maymay and Typhoon Neneng (international name: Nesat) have surged to P594.02 million, government data released Monday showed.

The latest report of the Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DA-DRRM OpCen) as of 12 p.m. on October 24, 2022 revealed a volume of production loss of 36,978 metric tons (MT).

The losses covered 22,150 hectares of agricultural areas, impacting some 22,437 farmers and fisherfolk in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Ilocos Region, and the Cagayan Valley.

Bulk of the losses was recorded in rice with P500.1 million, followed by high value crops with P57.73 million, corn with P19.62 million, livestock and poultry with P9.34 million, and fisheries with P7.23 million.

“The DA continuously coordinates with concerned NGAs [national government agencies], LGUs [local government units], and other DRRM-related offices for the impact of the tropical cyclones, as well as available resources for interventions and assistance,” the DA-DRRM said in an advisory.

The agency said assistance is available to affected farmers and fisherfolk, including P521.38-million worth of rice seeds, P6.08-million worth of corn seeds, and P6.77-million worth of assorted vegetable seeds.

It is also prepared to provide P2.43-million worth of animal heads, drugs, and biologics for livestock and poultry.

The DA-DRRM said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) also has fingerlings and fishing paraphernalia available, along with the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC).

The Department of Finance (DOF) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) expect inflation to remain high in the remaining months of the year, due to the damage caused by earlier typhoons and the weakness of the Philippine peso.

The agricultural sector earlier saw a beating from Typhoon Karding (international name: Noru), which left over P3-billion worth of damage and losses to the sector.

Consumer prices grew by 6.9% year-on-year in September, faster than the 6.3% print in August and the central bank’s 2% to 4% target range. — BM, GMA News