The Department of Agriculture-7 has reported around P30.7 million worth of rice and corn plantations in Central Visayas damaged by the drought and extreme heat being experienced in the country.

This is according to the Damage and Loss Assessment (DALA) report of the Department of Agriculture-7 as of April 22, 2024.

The DA-7 said that in Cebu, 130 rice farmers are adversely affected, with an area of 58.07 hectares with a corresponding volume of 138.10 metric tons amounting to P3.17 million.

For corn, Cebu province has 160 farmers affected, with an area of 29.75 hectares and the volume of damaged is about 31.08 metric tons, which amounts to P621,552.

For the Province of Negros Oriental, 1,488 rice farmers are affected, with 1,007.26 metric tons of rice (P21.17 million) in 725.35 hectares of land damaged.

For corn, Negros Oriental reported 110 farmers affected, with an area of 104.26 hectares and the volume of damaged crops reaching 115.13 metric tons amounting to P2.743 million.

For Siquijor, 141 rice farmers are affected, with an area of 38.19 hectares and the volume of damaged reaching 103.36 metric tons, which are worth P2.99 million.

DA-7 said that Bohol Province has not submitted any data as of April 22.

It said that since last year when the El Niño Advisory was issued, the department has created and strengthened the El Niño Task Force, including the Food Security Sector.

Among the activities of the Task Force is the conduct of trainings, assessments and workshops,  such as prevention and mitigation on the impacts of El Niño to crops, poultry and livestock, damage assessment and reporting system, prepositioning and inventory of buffer stocks, weekly monitoring activities of water dam level by the National Irrigation Administration, and climate outlook by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), as well as information dissemination and campaign activities.

“El Niño increases the likelihood of below-normal rainfall conditions, which could bring negative impacts such as dry spells and droughts in Central Visayas,” the DA-7 said.

It said that insurance claims paid due to drought/dry spell for Central Visayas, as of February 29, is at 1,238 farmers paid with 1,154.37 hectares of land affected. The indemnity amounted to P6.92 million.

The direct interventions of DA also include “monitoring of small water impounding Project or SWIPs, Irrigation Canals & Small-scale Irrigation Projects (SSIPs)”.

The direct intervention of the provincial, city, and municipal local government units, on the other hand, includes buffer stocks augmentation for those not covered by DA; provision of farm inputs (drums and hoses); and provision of insurance indemnity for those not covered by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (for Cebu).

The DA-7 Regional Disaster Task Force Team is headed by DA-7 Regional Director Angel C. Enriquez.

Source - https://qa.philstar.com