DAVAO CITY – As Typhoon Odette swept through the island provinces in Northeastern Mindanao, Central Visayas and Palawan on December 16, hundreds of thousands of hectares of agricultural land were shredded leaving billions worth of damages.
With the massive devastation of agricultural lands, this could put at risk the food security of the region as well as hampering the economic recovery efforts of the tourism sector that had just rebooted amid the impact of pandemic.
Humanitarian group Oxfam Pilipinas is wary that the destructive typhoons that hit the country in the last 10 years will have rippling effects on agriculture and food security of the country.
“What is clear is that those who will suffer are those who are least to blame for the climate crisis. More devastating typhoons will mean loss of security and livelihood for millions of people,” wrote Oxfam Pilipinas country director Lot Felizco in an email to Manila Bulletin.
Felizco issued the statement as many parts of the Northeastern Mindanao, Central Visayas and Palawan regions are still grappling with food, water, medicine and temporary shelters almost three weeks after Super Typhoon Odette hit.
As of January 18, the Department of Agriculture (DA) estimated the initial damage and losses left by the typhoon to the agriculture industry already cost at least P13.3 billion.
The agency’s bulletin showed that the typhoon has damaged or totally destroyed 462, 766 hectares of agricultural areas and affected 533, 709 farmers and fishers across 11 regions in Visayas, Mindanao and Palawan.
Since the typhoon swept through the island provinces, the fisheries sector suffered the most with worth P3.9 billion worth of damages followed by rice at P2.1 billion, high value crops at P2 billion, coconut P1.6 billion and sugar cane at P1.1 billion.
The rest of the cost were from the other agricultural sectors.
Furthermore, Felizco added that it’s unfortunate that the super typhoon devastated the Philippines just as the affected areas are recovering from the impact of novel coronavirus pandemic on their tourism industry.
Among those heavily-hit were the island provinces of Bohol and Siargao, which are among the top tourist destinations in the country that had just reopened its tourist destinations as part of economic recovery efforts amid the pandemic.
“Similar to previous experiences, it is expected that it will take time for the local economy to recover. Definitely, local businesses and farmers cannot do it alone. They will need the concerted effort of the government, private sector and non-government organizations,” she pointed out.
Costly typhoons
In March 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released a report “The impact of disasters and crises 2021 on agriculture and food security” stating that the rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather disturbances as a result of climate change is jeopardizing the food security and livelihoods.
The report further stated that between in 2008 and 2018, natural disasters have damaged the agricultural sectors of developing countries worth over USD $108 billion.
It added that Asia was the most hard-hit region with an overall economic loss of US$49.
In the last 10 years, destructive typhoons have wreaked havoc in our country and left a very costly trail of destruction.
In 2012, super typhoon Pablo (International name Bopha) shredded the provinces Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro (then Compostela Valley and Davao del Norte and left estimated damages worth at least P43.8 billion, according to a discussion paper of Philippine Institute for Development Studies in 2017.
Typhoon Pablo left at least 1,700 dead and affected over 950,000 people.
The following year, super typhoon Yolanda (International name Haiyan) wreaked havoc in Eastern Visayas region and left over 6,000 people dead. According to a World Bank report in 2015, the estimated damage was at least P571 billion.
Typhoon Yolanda left over 6,000 dead and affected over 1.4 million families.
While Typhoon Odette, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that as of January 16, the initial cost of damage to infrastructure alone in 38 provinces is at least P18.1 billion.
NDRRMC also reported that the typhoon left at least 400 people dead and has affected at least 2.3 million families.
“The negative effects of climate change, including more intense extreme weather events, are already being experienced by climate-vulnerable countries like the Philippines. Like Super Typhoon Yolanda, Super Typhoon Odette likely intensified due to warming seas,” said Felizco.
For economic think tank Ibon Foundation, the larger economic loss is harder to quantify.
Quoting a study by the Philippine Statistics Authority, Ibon Foundation executive director Sonny Africa, said the PSA estimates P244.8 billion worth of damages to agriculture over the decade 2010-2019 from major natural extreme events and disasters.
“This is a direct recurring loss of some P25 billion annually including damage to crops, poultry and livestock and a significant additional factor undermining the country's food security,” wrote Africa in an email to Manila Bulletin.
But people, he added, are also part of the economy and the sufferings of millions of families affected by disasters annually should also be considered a significant impact on the economy.
The policymakers, Africa suggested, should take the long view about disasters and ensure much bigger resources and attention to prevention and mitigation, preparedness and response, and rehabilitation and recovery.
“A systematic assessment of decades of different disasters should help identify what needs to be done, while a more sensitive view of the human suffering caused should compel the government to find the necessary resources,” he concluded.
Legal Rights Center and Natural Resources Center executive director Mai Taqueban claimed that government is still inadequately prepared for extreme weather events.
While acknowledging the early evacuation efforts may have minimized the casualties despite of Odette’s intensity, Taqueban lamented that the damage to property and livelihoods remains a worrying feature across disasters.
“The climate vulnerability of the Philippines remains acute and we are not on track to becoming more resilient to climate change,” she added.
Taqueban suggests that the “government must set aside more funds for building climate resilience, or the ability to prepare and respond to events and hazards related to climate change. In many ways, governance is about budget priorities.