Agri damage due to Habagat, Luis, Maymay tops P1.4-B

The damage to the agricultural sector has reached P1.4 billion due to the onslaught of the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) and the recent tropical cyclones Luis and Maymay, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

Latest figures by the DA showed that rice, high-value crops, and corn have sustained damage and loss due to the weather disturbances.

"As of yung latest bulletin natin, umakyat na sa P1.4 billion yung damage sa sector ng agrikultura. Pinakamalaki rito sa ating rice, sa palay natin at P794 million. Sinusundan ito ng ating mga gulay at iba pang high-value [crops] at P454 million. At sa maisan natin P74 million," said DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa in an interview with Unang Balita.

(As of our latest bulletin, agricultural sector damage has risen to P1.4 billion. The largest portion of this is in rice, at P794 million. This is followed by our vegetables and other high-value crops at P454 million. And for our cornfields, it is at P74 million.)

Irrigation facilities also posted P59 million in damages.

Meanwhile, livestock suffered P12 million in losses. Fisheries also sustained losses worth P6 million.

The DA official said that agricultural areas in Central Luzon were heavily affected by the monsoon and the recent cyclones.

"Lubhang naapektuhan dito sa Central Luzon, nasa P700 million 'yan. At dito rin sa Region 1, P300 million. Apektado rin, of course, yung buong Luzon dito sa combined effects ni Luis, Maymay, at sa patuloy na sobrang ulan ng Habagat," said De Mesa.

(Central Luzon was heavily affected, accounting for around P700 million. Region 1 was also hit, at P300 million. Of course, all of Luzon was affected by the combined effects of Luis, Maymay, and the continuous heavy rains from the Habagat.)

Prices

Although rice sustained the highest amount of damage and losses, the department said that there are no expected price increases in rice.

"Sa bigas, bagamat ito ang pinakamalaki in terms of value, pero in terms of volume, maliit na bahagi lamang ito at karamihan dito partially damaged at may chance pa ng recovery. Wala tayong inaasahan na impact nito sa bigas sa ngayon dahil maganda yunglocal supply at import natin," said De Mesa.

(For rice, although it accounts for the largest amount in terms of value, it is only a small portion in terms of volume, and most of it is only partially damaged with a chance of recovery. We do not expect any impact on rice prices right now because our local supply and imports are good.)

However, the public must brace for a slight price hike in vegetables.

"Pero pagdating sa gulay, ibang usapan ito, dahil malaking bahagi ng taniman natin sa Central Luzon, sa Southern Tagalog, at sa Cordillera ay apektado talaga. We can expect slight increases sa ating gulay," said De Mesa.

(However, when it comes to vegetables, it's a different story because a large portion of our farms in Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, and Cordillera were heavily affected. We can expect slight price increases for our vegetables.) —VAL, GMA News