Seed buffer stocks will be distributed to farmers affected by the southwest monsoon (habagat) in Ifugao province, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Tuesday, July 12.
The department's Regional Field Office – Cordillera Administrative Region (RFO-CAR) said it will send 11.9 kilograms of assorted vegetable seeds amounting to P340,860 to the Office of the Municipal Agriculture (OMAG) in Banaue.
According to the DA, the Provincial Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) and Task Force were recently activated and mobilized to validate and assess the affected agricultural areas in the province.
Due to the southwest monsoon, downpour flash floods, and mudslides in Banaue, Ifugao on July 7.
In DA-CAR's report, the downpour destroyed 120 hectares of rice fields (239 MT), three hectares of corn areas, and 78 hectares of high-value crops (489 MT).
"A total of 83 heads of swine were also counted as mortality as of July 11 due to the mudslide. Damage to agriculture was valued at P16.4 M, affecting 700 farmers in the area," it added.
It also reported that heavy rainfall and flash floods were also experienced in President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat from July 4 to 7.
The agriculture department said the incident partially destroyed 148 hectares of rice-producing areas, resulting in a production loss of 199.8 MT per the latest damage assessment report by the DA-RFO XII.
The agricultural damage was estimated at P3.8 million, with all 99 rice farmers in the municipality affected.
The DA – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DA-DRRM-OpCen) said the nationwide agricultural damages due to the monsoon were valued at P27.28 million as of July 12 noontime, devastating 1,303 hectares of agricultural areas and recording a volume of production loss at 928 MT. Meanwhile, the total number of Habagat-affected farmers has already reached 1,490.