Rice supplies sufficient, says DA

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday assured the sufficiency of rice supplies after two severe typhoons hit the country.

DA Director Lorna Calda said the National Food Authority (NFA) has distributed 1,447 bags of rice to local government units in the Ilocos and Cagayan regions.

Calda said the DA will also activate Kadiwa stores to make food supplies more affordable to affected residents.

The DA has a P1-billion quick response fund to help the agriculture sector recover and rehabilitate after the storms.

The DA will also activate Kadiwa stores to make food supplies more affordable to affected residents.

Approximately P541.02 million worth of agricultural inputs, including rice, corn, vegetable seeds, livestock and poultry, drugs and biologics, are ready for distribution in typhoon-affected areas.

The DA has also allocated another P500 million to implement the Agricultural Credit Policy Council’s Survival and Recovery Loan Program. Each affected farmer may avail of a maximum P25,000 loan payable in three years at zero interest.

Calda said farmers in typhoon-devastated areas will be indemnified through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.