Ompong damage to agriculture hits P14 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Damage to agriculture due to Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut) has reached P14 billion, with the rice sector being the hardest hit, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.

Updated report from the DA-Disaster and Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) Operation Center showed that agricultural damage is now at P14.27 billion affecting rice, corn, high value crops and livestock covering a total of 553,704 hectares, with an estimated volume of production loss at 731,294 metric tons (MT).

Rice contributed the largest share of losses at P8.97 billion covering 397,204 hectares, which is equivalent to 435,997 MT or about nine days of the country’s total consumption. About 212,491 farmers have been affected.

The affected area is 40 percent of the total rice standing crops of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Calabarzon or Region 4-A.

Nueva Ecija is the most affected province with losses at P2.84 billion, followed by Cagayan at P2.77 billion.

The DA said the projected damage from Ompong was smaller than the actual value reported since it was predicted that Batanes and Cagayan would be heavily affected.

However, due to the change in path and the wider area covered by the typhoon, rice fields in Central Luzon were also heavily affected, which were mostly in reproductive and maturity stages.

Corn production loss is at P4.5 billion affecting 148,587 hectares in CAR and Cagayan Valley, with estimated production volume loss of 281,039 MT.

Losses in high value crops have reached P788 million affecting 7,913 hectares in CAR and the provinces of Rizal, Cagayan and Isabela.

The volume of production loss is at 14,258 MT, mostly in their reproductive stage.

Damage to irrigation facilities was also reported in Ilocos Norte amounting to P15.7 million, affecting small-water impounding projects, impounding dams and spillways.

As for livestock, losses have been reported in CAR with 20,316 animal heads affected, amounting to P5.51 million.

The DA-DRRM Operations Center continues to monitor updates from the affected regions.

Meanwhile, state-run National Food Authority (NFA) has released 12,000 bags of rice to various areas in Luzon.

NFA said 12,047 bags of rice were released to relief agencies and local government units for distribution in Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa (Region 4-B) and Bicol region.

Ilocos received the bulk with 6,006 bags, Cagayan Valley with 2,000 bags, Central Luzon with 1,644 bags, Calabarzon and Mimaropa with 1,040 and Bicol with 1,357 bags.

Additional 6,000 bags of rice are being dispersed from the National Capital Region to boost supplies in Cagayan Valley. – With Michael Punongbayan