The low pressure area (LPA) that brought continuous rains in Cebu over the past two weeks has caused more than P500,000 in damage to crops in the three local government units. Assistant provincial agriculturist Roldan Saragena said only the towns of Pinamungahan and Balamban and the city of Toledo have so far submitted their reports on initial crop damage. According to Saragena, the three LGUs reported a total of P530,000 worth of damage to their irrigated rice farms, affecting 210 farmers. The city government of Toledo also reported another P39,375 worth of damage to vegetable farms, which affected 11 farmers. Saragena said that their office is checking whether the affected farmers were enrolled in the agri-fishery insurance program of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) so they can claim payment for crop damages from the PCIC. Saragena urged the affected farmers to coordinate with their local agriculture office to avail of assistance such as fertilizers and seedlings. He also urged other LGUs to submit their respective crop damage report within the week so that it could be validated, consolidated and coordinated with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. Saragena said they will be conducting a province-wide meeting with local agriculturist offices on February 15 to discuss, among others, the submission of crop damage reports. Source -  http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net