‘Ambo’ damage to agriculture breaches P 1-B mark

MANILA, Philippines — Damage wrought by Typhoon “Ambo” on farmers and fisherfolk in the heavily affected areas has climbed to P1.14 billion from P185.83 million overnight.

In its updated report on Sunday night, the Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DA-DRRM) said the volume of production loss was estimated at 65,824 metric tons (MT) in the regions of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol and Eastern Visayas.

Around 25,404 hectares of land were destroyed by Ambo’s heavy rains and powerful winds, which affected some 37,714 farmers and fisherfolk.

Most of the damage was sustained by banana and papaya farmers in Quezon province, where a total of P602.06 million worth of commodities were destroyed. In total, there were 50,021 MT of high-value crops that were destroyed by the typhoon, amounting to a loss of P793.15 million.

Other commodities devastated by the strong typhoon included rice (P184.58 million), corn (P117.11 million) , assorted vegetables (P170.38 million), and livestock (P23.39 million). Fish stocks, facilities, and fishing equipment worth P25.47 million were also hunkered down by the heavy downpour.

Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone said even newly harvested crops were damaged by Ambo. Livestock such as pigs, chickens, and cows were not spared.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar, however, assured stakeholders that the agency would fast-track the delivery of interventions to typhoon-stricken areas.

The agriculture department is looking to utilize its P700-million quick response fund to rehabilitate agricultural areas in affected regions, adding that it has already prepositioned rice and corn seeds to displaced farmers.

The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) also said it had enough funds to provide indemnities to insured farmers.

However, only a quarter of the country’s farmers are covered by the PCIC.