‘Ursula’ damage to agri reaches P695M

Capiz is one of the most damaged by Typhoon “Ursula.” (PDRRMO Capiz)

The Department of Agriculture (DA) placed the damages and losses incurred by farmers and fisherfolk due to Typhoon “Ursula“ at P695.85 million.

As of Friday, the DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) said the overall volume loss on rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and fisheries amounted to 1,244 metric tons, affecting 6,523 hectares and 47,690 farmers and fisherfolk in Mimaropa region, Bicol Region, and Western, Eastern, and Central Visayas.

There are also reported damage and losses on agri-infrastructure.

Most of the production losses were recorded in the fisheries sector, which accounted for 84.2 percent of the total damage or about P587.41 million, affecting 43,813 fisherfolk. These include damage to fishponds with tilapia, fish cages, fish pens, seaweeds, “payao” (fish-aggregating device), motorized and non-motorized bancas, and boundary markers.

For the rice sector, some P62.83 million were damaged with 1,013 MT volume production losses planted to 5,730 hectares in the areas of Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Capiz, Iloilo, Biliran and Leyte.

For corn crops, a total of P9.21 million were destroyed, affecting 697 hectares with an overall production loss of 102 MT in Leyte and Antique.

Damage to high-value crops reached P22.69 million with a production volume loss of 129 MT planted in 96 hectares in the areas of Iloilo, Samar, and Leyte.

The value of production loss in Masbate’s livestock sector was pegged at P243,390.

Meanwhile, agri-infrastructure damages in Leyte amounted to P13.46 million.

DA’s regional field offices in Visayas have seed reserves with 8,532 bags of rice seeds, 4,622 bags of corn seeds, 2,343 kgs of high- value crops seeds to be distributed to the affected farmers ready to replant.

In addition, DA-MIMAROPA will distribute a total of 4,540 bags of rice seeds and 1,000 packs of onion seeds in the municipalities of Occidental Mindoro including San Jose, Magsaysay, Rizal, and Calintaan.

The Agriculture Credit and Policy Council has an available fund of P60 million for emergency loans under the Survival Recovery Program to assist typhoon-affected farmers.

Further, the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation has available funds to pay for the losses incurred and will fast track the processing of crop insurance of farmers affected by the typhoon. (PNA)