More than 4,000 hectares (ha) of agricultural products could get affected by the continuous restiveness of Taal Volcano, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
"Based from the combined data in areas within the 14-kilometer (km) radius of the Taal Volcano, the total area of standing crops that may be affected by the volcanic activity is 40 ha of rice, 1,622 ha of corn and 2,772 ha of high-value crops," the agency said on its latest bulletin Tuesday, July 6.
This 14-km radius is often referred to as the volcano's "danger zone".
With this, the agriculture department reiterated its call to farmers and fisherfolk near the volcano to evacuate livestock to safer areas, harvest marketable crops and fish, and secure farm equipment and machineries.
They were also told to coordinate with their local government unit (LGU) or the Batangas Provincial Veterinary Office (ProVet) in evacuating their farm animals.
According to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), a team has been deployed to conduct ocular inspection on the five identified livestock high-risk barangays in Agoncillo and Laurel.
Rice, corn, vegetable seeds, drugs, biologics for livestock and poultry, and resources needed for the rescue and rehabilitation of affected animals have also been prepositioned in the region, the DA-Calabarzon office said.
Alert level 3 still prevails over Taal Volcano, which is in a state of magmatic unrest. This means that the magma extruding from the main crater could trigger an eruption, the agency said.