DA: Agri damage from Habagat, Luis, Maymay reaches over ₱600 million

The rains brought by the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) and the recent tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay have caused over ₱600 million worth of damage and losses to agricultural lands in various regions, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Ongoing assessment by regional offices showed that the damage and losses incurred in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Western Visayas have reached ₱689.66 million. This covers 19,634 hectares of agricultural lands.

The weather disturbances also caused 17,527 metric tons of volume of production losses.

Of the more than ₱600 million damages recorded, rice accounted for the biggest share at ₱451.42 million.

High-value crops suffered ₱147.30 million in losses, including upland and lowland vegetables, spices, legumes, calamansi, citrus, durian, lanzones, papaya, rambutan, watermelon, banana, root crops, and ornamental crops.

Corn sustained ₱32.74 million in damage, with most of the affected crops in the vegetative and reproductive stages.

Irrigation facilities and farm structures also sustained damage amounting to ₱46.37 million and ₱9.69 million, respectively. The DA also recorded P5,000 worth of damage to machineries and equipment.

Livestock, including chicken, fighting cock, swine, cattle, carabao, goat, sheep, duck, horse, quail, and turkey suffered ₱1.87 million in losses.

Cassava production also posted ₱262,000 in losses per DA.

The Habagat and the tropical cyclones also affected 21,115 farmers.

Affected farmers may avail themselves of ₱125.23 million worth of in-kind assistance on agricultural inputs, including rice, corn, and vegetable seeds, the department said.

They may also avail themselves of loans of up to ₱25,000 under the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC).

The DA said the National Food Authority will also distribute 1,007 bags of palay-milled rice to affected local government units in the Ilocos Region and Cagayan Valley. — BM, GMA News