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The combined damage and losses caused by the recent Typhoon Quinta and Super Typhoon Rolly reached 4.5 billion pesos, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Tuesday.
Despite reported damages and losses, DA Director of Operations Roy Abaya, in a virtual briefing, assured the public that there is enough food to meet demand until the end of the year.
“[Despite this, the damages from these typhoons on our] the main crops remain minimal. Our food supplies are sufficient, especially rice and corn; we have supplies to provide food for the whole year. Hopefully we can maintain this, ”Abaya said, reiterating that farmers were able to harvest their crops earlier thanks to DA’s early warning notice.
According to Abaya, the combined damage and losses from the recent typhoons affected 77,958 farmers and 115,148 hectares of agricultural areas in Regions 1, 2, 3, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, 5, 6, 7 and 9 at 12 noon on Tuesday 3 of November. .
The volume of lost production is 262,539 metric tons (MT). Products affected include rice, corn, high-value crops, fish, livestock, irrigation and agriculture, Abaya added.
Of the affected farmers and fishermen, he said that 47,864 were affected by Quinta while 30,094 were affected by Rolly.
The DA official said Quinta damaged P2.5 billion worth of commodities, while Rolly posted P1.9 billion as of that date.
Most of Rolly’s losses were incurred by rice farmers who lost 62,444 MT of products worth P1.1 billion. This was followed by high value crops, which registered P790.9 million in loss of production with an estimated affected volume of 50,581 MT.
Abaya said the department is coordinating closely with interested agencies to provide assistance to affected farmers and fishermen.
Meanwhile, Abaya guaranteed the availability of P400 million in rapid response funds for the rehabilitation of the affected areas.
It insured affected farmers a total of 133,326 bags of rice seed; 17,545 bags of corn seeds and 1,980 kilograms of assorted vegetables.
He said the agency will also provide about 10 million pieces of available tilapia and milkfish fingerlings, as well as fishing gear and paraphernalia for fishermen.
Abaya said DA will also distribute animal reserves, planting materials, feed, medicines and biologicals for livestock and poultry.
Affected farmers, he said, can also access the P300 million Survival and Recovery Loan Program (SURE) from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), which provides a loan of up to P25,000 (P5,000 for emergencies and P20,000 for recovery), without interest and without guarantee, payable in 10 years.
