More farmers hurt as storm damage breaks P500M

STREET UNDER WATER Maysantol-Tibig road in Bulakan town in Bulacan province gets flooded on Sunday following days of monsoon rains that also forced the Ipo, Bustos and Angat Dams to release water. —CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE

MANILA, Philippines — The value of agricultural damage and losses caused by Typhoon Fabian (international name: In-fa) has breached the P500-million mark, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Wednesday.

The typhoon exited the Philippine area of responsibility last week but left 22,516 farmers and livestock raisers with production losses in the regions of Cordillera, Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Western Visayas.

About P533.54 million worth of crops and livestock were lost, the DA said. Fabian destroyed 30,926 hectares of agricultural areas, with an estimated production loss of 9,511 metric tons.

The biggest losses were incurred by the rice sector, comprising 92 percent of the total damage. The rest were sustained by rice farmers, high-value crops planters and livestock raisers.

Before Fabian’s onslaught, the DA said a total area of 2,398 ha of rice was harvested following the state weather bureau’s advisory. This is valued at P227.94 million.

The DA has prepared assistance for affected stakeholders, including the provision of seeds, drugs and biologics.

Farmers and raisers may also avail themselves of recovery loans and indemnity fees, so long as they are registered with the agency and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.

The state weather bureau said the rainy weather would likely persist until Thursday because of a southwest monsoon, or habagat.

Farmers are advised to harvest mature crops early and relocate animals, farm machinery and even boats to higher ground if needed.