‘Agaton’ agri damage climbs to P423.8 million, says DA

This photo taken and provided on April 11, 2022, courtesy of Hannah Cala Vitangcol, shows houses buried under mud after a landslide hit the village of Bunga, in Baybay town, Southern Leyte province, southern Philippines, following heavy rains brought about by Tropical Storm Agaton (international name: Megi). (Photo by Hannah Cala Vitangcol / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines — The estimated agricultural damage from Tropical Depression Agaton (international name: Megi) almost doubled to P423.8 million on Wednesday.

This was according to the Department of Agriculture (DA), which reported Tuesday that P265.3 million worth of damage was caused by Agaton to the country’s agriculture sector.

The DA said the cost of damage translated to a volume loss of 25,165 metric tons (MT), affecting 6,557 farmers and fishers, and 10,920 hectares of agricultural land.

Meanwhile, majority of commodities affected by the typhoon were still rice crops totaling 24,738 MT of volume loss amounting to P403.5 million.

The second was corn, with 38 MT of volume loss worth P3.2 million.

As for high-value crops, the DA said vegetables, cacaos, and fruits suffered a total of 388 MT of volume loss amounting to P17.1 million.

Agaton also killed 20 heads of chicken in Agusan del Norte, resulting in the loss of about P5,000, the DA noted.

On Tuesday night, the tropical depression weakened into a low-pressure area although it still brought rain to several parts of the country.

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