P187M set aside for payments to insured farmers

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA), has set aside P187 million for payments to insured farmers affected by flooding and other damage from three typhoons and the enhanced southwest monsoon, providing a financial cushion as extreme weather takes a growing toll on agriculture.

In a press statement, the DA said payments cover losses reported from 1 to 26 August across eight regions, mostly in Luzon, and will benefit 24,987 farmers.

Central Luzon secured the largest number of beneficiaries at 9,636, followed by the Ilocos Region with 3,874.

According to PCIC president Jovy Bernabe, rice farmers accounted for the biggest share of insurance claims at P132.9 million.

Claims from corn farmers totaled P9.3 million, while those covering high-value crops reached P42.1 million.

“We have issued strict instructions to our regional staff to continue extending their assistance to the affected farmers and speed up the processing of their damage claims,” Bernabe said in a report to Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr.

The insurance payments come as the Department of Agriculture assesses the broader impact of the weather disturbances on farm production and food supply.

The DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center, in its 6 September report, estimated agricultural damage at P4.13 billion.

The weather disturbances affected 97,589 farmers and fisherfolk, with an affected area of 81,383 hectares, while production losses reached an estimated 100,602 metric tons. Rice suffered the heaviest damage, with 73,307 hectares affected and production losses of 65,106 metric tons valued at P2.04 billion.

Despite the scale of the losses, the damaged rice accounts for less than 1 percent of the 20.3 million metric tons of production projected for the year, limiting the likely impact on overall supply.

“Unfortunately, much of the damaged rice was already about to be harvested,” Tiu Laurel said. “And the damage also extends to high-value crops from the Cordillera Administrative Region, and fisheries, especially fish ponds in Bulacan and Pampanga.”

The agriculture chief said the damage could add to inflationary pressures, particularly for vegetables and fish, where localized supply disruptions could quickly translate into higher prices. Rice, however, should be less vulnerable to price pressures because of sufficient supplies from recent domestic harvests and imports, he said.

The latest losses underscore the financial risks that extreme weather poses to farmers and the wider food supply chain. For the government, faster insurance payouts can help farmers recover and resume production while reducing the risk that temporary production losses will turn into prolonged supply disruptions and higher food prices.