It has not yet been 24 hours since Typhoon Rolly entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), and the country’s agriculture sector has already incurred P1.1 billion worth of damages and losses from what is considered the world's strongest tropical cyclone for this year so far.  

The morning after the typhoon, Agriculture Secretary William Dar reported that most affected commodities are rice, corn, and other high value crops.

“As much as 20,000 hectares were damaged and 20,000 farmers have been affected, leading us to P1.1 billion of total damages,” Dar said.

Typhoon Rolly made landfall in Bato, Catanduanes Sunday morning and triggered massive floods in the province, then moved to cause serious damage in Tiwi, Albay and San Narciso, Quezon, among other areas.

According to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), thunderstorms are still more likely to develop over the National Capital Region within the next hours.

Also, based on the preliminary report of DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRM), nearly 900,000 metric tons (MT) of agricultural commodities were lost, with rice and corn as the most affected crops.   

Dar said that because of the government's early advisory, a total of 242,368 hectares of rice has been saved from Typhoon Rolly in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, and 5, with an equivalent production of 1.71 million MT amounting to P16.96 billion.

As for corn, a total of 11,132 hectares have been saved in Regions 1, 2, 5, and 8, with an equivalent production of 45,703 MT amounting to P579 million.  

DA urged farmers to harvest their mature crops immediately and, in other cases, delay their planting until weather and field conditions become favorable for planting.

The DA assured that there are available interventions for affected farmers and fishers, including the provision of farm inputs, indemnification fund from Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), and loan under Agricultural Credit Policy Council's (ACPC) Survival and Recovery (SURE) program.

The DA also decided to withdraw P400 million from its Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of areas to be affected by the typhoon.

It is also set to distribute a total of 133,326 bags of rice seeds; 17,545  bags of corn seeds, and 1,980 kilograms of assorted vegetables from DA's regional field offices.

Drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry, as well as around 10 million pieces of available tilapia and milkfish fingerlings, and fishing gears and paraphernalia, are all ready for distribution.