The agricultural damage from Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon or habagat has reached to nearly ₱400 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday afternoon, July 26.
In a statement, the DA said the weather disturbance also affected 21,785 farmers in Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western and Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Soccsksargen and Caraga.
It noted that a total of 23,256 hectares (ha) of agricultural areas have been devastated by Carina and the southwest monsoon.
The agency said 67.64 percent of the total affected areas, or 15,730 ha, have a chance for recovery.
Meanwhile, 7,526 ha, or the remaining 32.36 percent, have no chance of recovery.
The volume of production loss is at 5,599 metric tons (MT), the DA stated.
The DA reported that palay, or rice, suffered the most damage at 89.09 percent, followed by high-value crops (HVC) at 6.04 percent, and corn at 4.77 percent.
According to the agency, the damage to rice, with a volume loss of 4,579 MT, is valued at ₱356.28 million.
The damage to corn is valued at ₱19.07 million, with a volume loss of 545 MT.
High-value crops sustained damage worth ₱24.15 million, with a volume loss of 477 MT.
The DA noted that 2,508 livestock perished due to the weather disturbances, with a total value of ₱411,950.
The DA has so far distributed 72,174 bags of rice seeds, 39,546 bags of corn seeds, 59,600 pouches and 1,966 kilograms of vegetable seeds to affected farmers.
The agency also made available the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), offering loans up to ₱25,000, payable over three years at zero interest.
As such, it provided the Quick Response Fund (QRF) for area rehabilitation and allocated funds from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.