DA: Agri infra sustains P28.7M worth of damage due to Abra quake

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday farm infrastructure in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Ilocos Region sustained P28.7 million worth of damage due to the magnitude 7 earthquake that jolted Northern Luzon.

Those damaged by the tremor include irrigation systems, farm to market roads, and farm structures, the DA said in a statement.

Citing a report from National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the Agriculture department said the main canal (150 meters) of the Banaoang Pump Irrigation System (PIS) in the municipality of Bantay, Ilocos Sur, affecting irrigation service to about 2,000 hectares of agricultural land, was damaged.

“The estimated cost of infrastructure damage is P15 million,” it said.

“Moreover, NIA-CAR reported damage in its Abra satellite office with an estimated cost of P5 million,” it added.

The DA said the values are subject to validation.

Meanwhile, the agency said that transport of food and agricultural commodities are unhampered as major roads are being reopened by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in affected areas.

“Moreover, there is no reported increase in prices of agri-fishery commodities,” the DA said.

The Agriculture department said its regional field office (RFO) in CAR has mobilized two units of trucks loaded with three metric tons of assorted highland vegetables, dried fish, and other basic food items to municipalities in the province of Abra.

“According to the National Food Authority, there is sufficient rice bufferstock inventory for immediate relief operations in CAR, Regions I, II, and III,” the DA said.

The DA said that its bureaus, attached agencies, and corporations continuously coordinate with concerned national government agencies, local government units, and other disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM)-related offices for the impact of the phenomenon, as well as available resources for interventions and assistance.

It said the following assistance will be provided to the affected farmers and fishers:

•     Rice, corn, and assorted vegetable seeds
•     Drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry
•     Fast-tracking of release of fuel subsidy and Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) to affected regions
•     Survival and Recovery (SURE) Program of Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC)
•     P100 million of Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas

“The DA-DRRM Operations Center will continuously provide updates regarding the earthquake,” the DA said.—AOL, GMA News