THE government provided some P116 million to farmers in Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon where rice and corn crops and irrigation facilities were damaged by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel.
For all typhoon-affected farmers in both regions, Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said his department will provide farmers with subsidized rice and corn seeds, whose crops were totally or partially damaged.
“For totally-damaged areas, the Department of Agriculture [DA] will provide free certified palay seeds and open-pollinated varieties [OPV] of corn worth P1,200 per hectare, and P600 worth of rice or corn seeds for partially-damaged areas,” said Alcala in a statement.
DA Regional Director Lucrecio Alviar Jr. said they have allotted an initial P80 million for rice and corn seed subsidy assistance for Cagayan Valley farmers.
The amount, he said, is on top of the P29.5 million worth of various farm equipment and projects, and P610,000 worth of grants to Irrigators’ Associations (IAs), other farmers’ groups and local government units committed by Alcala.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) under the DA also paid out an initial P6 million in indemnity coverage for seven farmers’ cooperatives in Isabela.
Alviar said the recent typhoons affected a total of 175,700 hectares of palay, of which 9,162 hectares were totally damaged, with an estimated loss of 152,431 metric tons (MT) in Cagayan Valley.
The total affected area for corn totalled 79,771 hectares, of which 10,820 hectares were totally damaged, incurring a loss of 148,503 MT.
Alcala visited the four provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya on Oct.19-20 to personally inspect typhoon-affected towns, consult with farmers and local officials, and commit various assistance and interventions.
In Isabela on the first of his three-day swing of eight provinces of Cagayan and Central Luzon regions, Alcala said the DA will provide P47 million in seed assistance. The Isabela provincial government will provide P17 million as their counterpart to assist typhoon-affected rice and corn farmers.
Alviar said the DA will also provide a total of P33 million for rice and corn seed subsidy assistance for the provinces of Quirino (P14 million), Cagayan (P12 million) and Nueva Vizcaya (P7 million).
The provincial governments of Cagayan, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya have committed to provide their respective counterparts of P12 million, P6 million and P5 million, respectively, for the rice and corn assistance.
Alcala assured farmers and local officials that the Aquino administration will implement needed interventions, and provide farm inputs and equipment to help them recover.
The National Irrigation Administration in Cagayan Valley also reported that a total of 234 national and communal irrigation systems in Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino were partially damaged at P303 million by the recent typhoons. (Jennifer A. Ng)
