The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will provide P210.93 million worth of farm inputs to assist farmers affected by Tropical Cyclones Luis and Maymay, as well as the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat).

In a bulletin released on Monday, the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said that among the farm inputs set to be distributed are rice, corn, and vegetable seed, with 3,631 bags of palay (unmilled rice) from the National Food Authority set to be issued to local government units, including those in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Mimaropa.

The DA said 5,005 affected farmers and fisherfolk insured by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. are due to receive indemnities totaling P35.67 million, as well as loans of up to P25,000 from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council’s Survival and Recovery program.

The DA said its regional field offices in the affected areas are mobilizing logistical support by deploying KADIWA trucks to facilitate the transport of agricultural commodities and aid.

It is also monitoring commodity prices and market flows to deter profiteering.

The DA reported that agricultural damage caused by the two storms and the monsoon was valued at P1.42 billion, with 43,340 farmers affected, 34,572 hectares of farm land damaged, and 35,083 metric tons of production lost.

Damage to the rice crop was valued at P794.40 million, followed by high-value crops (P454.91 million), corn (P74.51 million), livestock (P12.11 million), fisheries (P9.26 million), and cassava (P1.79 million).

Irrigation damage was reckoned at P59.76 million, farm structures P15.82 million, and machinery and equipment P1.37 million.

Source - https://bworldonline.com