Twin typhoons cripple Capiz farm; Damage soars as over 6,000 farmers reel

ILOILO CITY — Capiz is staggering after back-to-back typhoons leveled farmlands and wiped out millions worth of crops, leaving 6,111 farmers scrambling to recover from the province’s worst agricultural beating this season.

Acting Provincial Agriculturist Raoul Perez said typhoon Ramil delivered the “first punch,” hammering fields across the province—only for succeeding storms to return with a “second wave” of destruction that deepened the crisis.

The Final Damage Assessment Report for rice as of 28 October revealed the scale of the blow: 4,810 farmers hit, 4,106.33 hectares ruined, and a jaw-dropping Php 94.66 million in losses.

The devastation did not spare high-value crops: 152 farmers, 46.35 hectares, and Php 8.56 million gone. Corn growers also took a hit, losing 25.75 hectares, affecting 37 farmers, and costing another Php707,204.50.

Then Typhoon Tino slammed into Capiz, flattening more rice lands already kneeling from Ramil’s wrath. A partial assessment as of 11 November showed 1,112 additional farmers affected and 977.38 hectares damaged—translating to Php 12.9 million more in losses.

Provincial Agriculturist Office information officer Florie May Castro said they are still tallying the full extent of damage from Tino and Uwan, warning that the numbers may still “climb aggressively” as reports continue to pour in.

Perez said their office has already sought emergency rice seed assistance from the Department of Agriculture–PhilRice to jumpstart recovery, but emphasized that consolidation of all affected farmers is still underway.