Monsoon, cyclones leave P2.3-B agri damage
Agricultural damage due to the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones “Luis,” “Maymay” (international name: Kujira), and “Neneng” (international name: Gaenari) has climbed to P2.32 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Thursday.
The latest tally represented a 21.5-percent increase from the P1.91 billion in losses the DA reported on Monday. The weather disturbances affected 69,615 farmers and fishers in eight regions, namely Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Western Visayas.
About 60,896 metric tons of farm produce were damaged, covering 62,732 hectares of agricultural areas. “Further damage and losses are expected in affected regions as assessment and validation are ongoing,” the DA said in its advisory.
Rice accounted for 59.74 percent or P1.39 billion of the overall damage, with the majority of damaged crops in vegetative and reproductive stages.
Losses in high-value crops amounted to P692.21 million, equivalent to 29.83 percent of the total.
