Agri damage now at P2.26B

Agricultural damage caused by Severe Tropical Storm “Maring” has reached P2.26 billion as of Wednesday evening, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported, adversely affecting more than 79,000 farmers, fishers, and backyard livestock and poultry raisers.

Damage and losses continue to mount in the regions of Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Socckskargen. Production losses reached 105,943 metric tons (MT) of rice, corn, and high-value crops, spanning across 88,062 hectares of agricultural areas.

The DA also reported the devastation of diversion dams, irrigation systems, check dams, nurseries, demo farms, and farm-to-market roads.

Farmer groups are calling on the agency to expand its interventions to those who were affected by Maring, noting that of the P1.5 billion worth of assistance that was committed by the DA, P650 million was set aside to fund loans while P370 million was meant to pay for indemnity.

The rest are for seedlings, fingerlings, drugs, and biologics that are to be distributed for free.

Rice farmers were the hardest hit as P1.5 billion worth of the staple were destroyed by flash floods just as the industry entered the main harvest season.

Backyard livestock raisers also lost over 34,000 heads of their animals to the floods.