The agricultural damage caused by Super Typhoon Goring has reached P1.07 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed on Monday, Sept. 4.

It said the weather disturbance also affected over P31,000 farmers.

The affected areas are Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Western Visayas, and MIMAROPA (Mindoro Oriental & Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan).

According to DA’s Bulletin No. 7, the production loss is pegged at P46,811 metric tons (MT) which covers 42,333 hectares of arable land.

The production loss for rice is 36,794 MT with a total value of P905.92 million, the agency stated.

“Most of the damage and losses on rice are in [the] vegetative and reproductive stage,” it noted.

Meanwhile, corn’s production loss is at 9,694 MT which costs P147.43 million.

“Most of the damage and losses in corn are in reproductive and maturity stages,” the DA said

The agriculture department said the affected commodities include rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and poultry.

Data showed that rice farmers are most affected by Goring as they account for 84.8 percent of affected farmers in the country, while 13.8 percent are corn farmers. The other 1.4 percent are farmers of high-value crops, livestock, and poultry.

Aid to farmers

The DA said it has provided P100 million worth of rice, corn, and assorted vegetable seeds to affected farmers.

As such, the government has so far distributed drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry.

The agency said it has made available the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with a loanable amount of up to P25,000 which is payable in three years at zero interest; and Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas.