Around 21,000 hectares (ha) of standing crops, mostly rice, were impacted by the devastation of Typhoon “Aghon”, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) disclosed on Monday, May 27.
DA Assistant Secretary for Operations U-Nichols Manalo said the areas affected by the typhoon were Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon), Bicol Region, and Eastern Visayas.
“Base sa estimate namin, in terms of the standing crop, 21,000 hectares, ang nakikita namin na medyo impacted nitong ulan. Well, na dala ng bagyo. Majority of these are rice (Based on our estimate, in terms of the standing crop, we see that about 21,000 hectares have been somewhat impacted by this rain, which was brought by the typhoon. The majority of these are rice crops),” Manalo said in an interview during the “2024 National Farmers and Fisherfolk Month” celebration of the agency in its central office in Quezon City.
Manolo said the DA will verify on the ground whether the crops have sustained total or partial damage.
“Kasi ‘yun po yung dalawang basehan lang kapag tayo ay tumitingin ng damage ng kalamidad (Because those are the only two bases we use when assessing disaster damage),” he stated.
“Kung may tsyansa pa pang matuloy ang tanim, o kaya kailangan nating magtanim ulit at palitan (Whether there's still a chance for the crops to continue growing, or if we need to replant and replace them).”
However, Manalo said, there is still no data available on the amount of agricultural damage inflicted by the typhoon in the three regions.
The agriculture department, he said, has not observed any price increase on agricultural products so far.
State weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that typhoon "Aghon" is forecasted to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) between Wednesday afternoon and evening, May 29.
According to the tropical cyclone bulletin released by PAGASA at 11 a.m. on Monday, May 27, the typhoon will continue its northeastward trajectory across the Philippine Sea before leaving the PAR.