Farmers affected by Ifugao flash floods to receive P340K worth of vegetable seeds

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) will turn over vegetable seeds worth P340,860 to the Office of the Municipal Agriculture (OMAG) in Banaue, Ifugao.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DA said 11.9 kilograms of assorted vegetable seeds will be handed over to OMAG through its Regional Field Office in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to help farmers recover from the destruction of the flash floods triggered by the southwest monsoon that struck Banaue.

The DA through its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said it will provide the affected farmers and fishers with the following:

• Rice, corn, and assorted vegetable seeds;
• Drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry;
• Survival and Recovery (SURE) Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC);
• Available funds from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to indemnify affected farmers; and
• Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas

The department earlier said the SURE Program of the ACPC will be rolled out and that funds from the PCIC will be given to the affected farmers.

According to the DA, the Provincial Emergency Operation Centers and Task Force, spearheaded by the Agricultural Program Coordinating Officers, were mobilized to monitor the affected agricultural areas in the province.

The DA-CAR reported that the damage in Banaue as of July 7 accounts for a volume loss of about 239 metric tons (MT) of rice, 3 hectares of corn areas, and 489 MT of high-value crops.

As of July 11, a total of 83 heads of swine were killed due to the mudslide.

This translates to agricultural damage and losses amounting to P16.4 million already, which have also affected about 700 farmers in the area in Ifugao town.

Nationwide, the total estimated agricultural damage of the monsoon nationwide is already at P27.28 million as of Tuesday noon, destroying 1,303 hectares of agricultural areas and recording a volume of production loss at 928 MT, and affecting over 1,490 farmers, the DA said.

Moreover, the department assured that it is already planning an immediate and efficient mobilization and distribution of assistance, in coordination with the national government agencies, local government units, and other DRRM-related offices. – Nicole Faye Agcaoili, INQUIRER.net intern

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