The regional office of the Department of Agriculture
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The damage to agriculture brought by super typhoon Odette in Central Visayas has now reached P3.3 billion.
Joel Elumba, Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture in Central Visayas (DA-7), said this was based on the partial report submitted by the municipalities and provinces in the region.
Elumba said the amount may increase as more reports come in.
He said currently 139,000 farmers and fisherfolks were affected by the super typhoon which battered Visayas and Mindanao.
Bohol’s rice areas, he said, were badly affected while in Cebu, the severely affected were the corn crops, coconut, and mango trees that were either bent or uprooted.
He said Negros Oriental and Siquijor were also partially damaged.
Aside from crops, small-scale irrigation projects were also affected, infrastructures such as livestock facilities were also badly damaged.
Elumba added their regional office in Mandaue City has also sustained damage worth around P30 million.
SUPPLY AND PRICE
Elumba said there is enough supply of rice, vegetables, poultry, and livestock for the region with the prices of said goods still stable, except for fish, which has increased a bit.
He added they have been checking the prices of basic commodities in the different markets.
REHABILITATION
Elumba said they have already requested P300 million from the Central Office for the restoration and repair of damaged infrastructure, seeds, and interventions.
He said this may increase as the amount was based on the initial reports they received from the different LGUs.
Elumba said their rehabilitation plans include putting up a buffer stock of seeds, corn, and rice.
He said the priority is on vegetable seeds that mature early which would mean that vegetables can be harvested within 25 to 30 days.
Small farmers could take out a loan of up to P25,000 under the Agricultural Comprehensive Emergency Fund while big-scale farmers could also loan at least P5 million to the financial windows of the Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines.
Elumba added that they are also looking into the accreditation of some conduits or the big multi-purpose cooperatives that will also help for lending. /rcg