Crop damage reaches P3.3 B

MANILA, Philippines – Crop damage caused by typhoon “Frank” in Western Visayas and eight other regions has trebled from P1.04 billion to P3.3 billion, based on additional field reports gathered yesterday by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In its latest report to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, the DA Central Action Center (DACAC) bared that aside from Western Visayas and the two provinces earlier found to have been affected by the typhoon, the MIMAROPA provinces of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque and Romblon have also suffered damage to their standing agricultural crops.

But the DA still insists that the total palay damage as of June 24 will not make a substantial dent on 2008 production.

The losses, the DA said, represent just 0.95 percent of the production target of 3.44 million metric tons for the July-September crop period.

Corn losses also represent 0.562 percent of the target of 2.51 million MT for the same period.

Typhoon Frank affected rice, corn and high-value commercial crops (HVCCs) and fisheries in nine regions: CALABARZON (Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Quezon); the aforementioned MIMAROPA provinces; Bicol (Masbate); the whole of Western Visayas; Central Visayas (Cebu and Negros Oriental); and Eastern Visayas (Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar); and SOCSKSARGEN (Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and South Cotabato).

Damage to rice crops was placed at P670.7 million and 32,607 MT of palay lost.

Western Visayas sustained the biggest damage amounting to P3.505 billion, broken down to P609 million for rice, P157 million for corn, agricultural facilities of P29 million and fisheries worth P2.25 billion.

Damage to the fisheries sector is further broken down to P1.25 billion for bangus and P1 billion for shrimp.

Some 37,825 hectares planted with palay were either totally or partially damaged.

The DA said the affected areas were 52,825 hectares from the entire Western Visayas and the rest of the affected provinces.

The damage to corn crops reached P166 million, with the volume lost estimated at 14,132 MT from a total affected area of 16,064 hectares in Regions 3 and 6 and the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, Masbate and Cebu.

Damage to HVCCs covering 5,574 hectares was valued at P194.16 million, representing a production loss of 19,303 MT.

Initial field reports showed that damage to DA facilities in Western Visayas reached P29 million.

The DA estimated direct losses from all crop-production inputs used by the farmers in the storm-battered provinces at P665 million, and indirect losses from the combined value of the standing crops that were damaged at another P850.07 million.

Of the damaged areas, crops in 19,508 hectares were totally destroyed with no chance of recovery, while those planted in another 63,186 hectares still have a chance of recovery.

About 9,248 hectares of rice land that were damaged beyond recovery were in the mature phase of production, while 1,654 hectares were in the vegetative stage.