The government expects Typhoon Ruby to inflict minimal damage to the farm sector with the harvest season over.

In a press briefing, Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary Edilberto de Luna said "Ruby" (international name: Hagupit) cost the farm sector P285.52 million in losses so far, with most of the damage on rice farms.

The DA's initial estimate comprises 0.05 percent of farm production in the first nine months of the year. To recall, contraction in the country's agriculture sector, which accounted for a tenth of the economy, was part of the reason growth slowed down in the third quarter.

De Luna said the typhoon damage covered 68,404 hectares, and was concentrated in Regions 5 (Bicol) and 8 (Eastern Visayas). "Ruby" made landfall in Eastern Visayas.

Rice farms sustained the biggest hit at P312.86 million, with 19,610 metric tons planted to 22,688 hectares likely lost.

Damage to corn farms reached P65.6 million, with 5,125 metric tons planted to 45,621 hectares likely lost.

The high-value crops sub-sector sustained P7.03 million in damage, followed by the livestock sub-sector at P31,250.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the damage is unlikely to rise, as majority of the areas planted to rice and corn had been harvested before the typhoon struck.

“Also, those areas still not harvested, as long as it’s still not in the flowering stage, we can still recover that crop. So, we expect no major damage from the typhoon,” he said.

Undersecretary Emerson Palad said the department has distributed seeds among local governments along the typhoon's path.

“We have prepositioned some 58,900 bags of rice seeds to areas expected to be hit by the typhoons, and more than 14,000 bags of corn seeds. For the entire country, we have about 78,000 bags of rice readily available for deployment,” Palad said.

He said quick response teams have been deployed and command centers operating on a 24-hour basis.

Source - http://www.interaksyon.com/