Ilocos farmers paid for crop losses due to 2 typhoons

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Farmers in Ilocos Norte whose farms were devastated by back-to-back typhoons last year have received compensation from the Department of Agrarian Reform as part of government’s crop insurance program, officials said Friday.

The DAR recently awarded checks amounting to a total of P1.5 million to some 386 agrarian reform beneficiaries whose crops were either destroyed or damaged by typhoons “Odette” and “Vinta” in the last quarter of 2013.

In a news release, the agency said provincial agrarian reform program officer Felicidad Dumaguing presided over the awarding of the indemnity checks to the Ilocos Norte farmers.

“The typhoons which occurred last year destroyed most of the farmers’ crops due to strong winds while those who have managed to harvest their rice and crops also suffered because of floods. Farmers weren’t able to get their produce to the market centers and it rotted,” Dumaguing said in the press release.

Early last year, the DAR entered into a partnership with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to insure Ilocos Norte land reform beneficiaries against crop damage or losses.

Under the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries-Agricultural Insurance Program, farmers are protected against losses due to pest and disease infestations, natural calamities and extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change.

The program is a P17.1 billion crop insurance coverage plan between the DAR and PCIC, an  agency of the Department of Agriculture, in which the DAR provides a premium subsidy worth P1 billion.

The P1.5 million in indemnity payments were made to farmers in 23 municipalities of Ilocos Norte where some 900 hectares of unmilled rice were destroyed by the typhoons.