A TOTAL of 1,098 farmers in Negros Occidental affected by the dry spell have filed notices of loss with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) to avail of crop indemnity claims. Records of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) showed that affected farmers cover a total damaged area of about 1,374 hectares in 18 local government units (LGUs) in the province. They are part of the 5,295 farmers and fisherfolk in 21 LGUs currently affected by the dry spell that caused damage to 4,551.70 hectares of rice, corn, high-value crops, and tilapia farms amounting to P155.03 million. Pontevedra has the highest number of farmers who filed notices of loss, 307. It is followed by Kabankalan with 205; Cauayan, 127; and Hinoba-an, 100 farmers. Ninety-two farmers in Candoni also filed notices of loss; Hinigaran, 50; Murcia, 44; La Castellana, 43; Moises Padilla, 40; Bago City, 30; Ilog, 26; San Carlos City, 19; Pulupandan, five; San Enrique, three; cities of Himamaylan, Sipalay, and La Carlota, two each; and Isabela, one. Provincial Senior Agriculturist Dina Genzola said these farmers are enrolled in the Negros First Universal Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP) of the provincial government, which provides claims worth P17,000 per hectare of farm affected by calamities. Genzola said the lists of farmers who filed their notices of loss were submitted to OPA by agriculturists and NFUCIP facilitators from different districts. OPA will then process and submit these to PCIC for assessment and validation. “The PCIC has already added adjusters to speed up the conduct of validation and computation of claims,” she said, adding that it has already assessed and validated about 500 insured farmers who are expected to receive their respective claims within 15 to 30 days. Genzola added that the amount of indemnity will be based on the value of agriculture inputs thus, damaged rice crops for instance in the maturity stage may have higher claims than seedlings stage. The enrollment premium per cropping season for NFUCIP is P840. Of which, only P340 is the counterpart of the farmer-enrollees while the remaining P500 is shouldered by the Provincial Government as loan. Enrollees should apply for insurance before planting, Genzola said, adding that farms covered by the program are those planted for not less than 25 days. “We continue to encourage local farmers to avail of the insurance program of the province to allay possible adverse effects of calamities like El Niño to crops,” she noted. Source - sunstar.com.ph