QUEZON CITY (PIA) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has allotted over P2.7 billion in ongoing efforts to assist farmers and fishers hit hardest by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) that left P6.8 billion in damage to agriculture and the fisheries sector, especially in the Bicol region.
In an interview on PTV 4’s Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Friday, Nov. 8, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said that the P2.709 billion in various assistance packages does not yet cover the damage to agriculture due to Typhoon Leon (Kong-Rey) and Typhoon Marce (Yinxing).
He noted that damage assessment from the two recent destructive cyclones is still ongoing.
Asec. De Mesa broke down Kristine’s damage to agriculture into:
· more than P5 billion in the rice subsector, with Bicol incurring losses of nearly P3 billion and Camarines Sur alone getting P1.8 billion in losses in the region;
· Mimaropa Region 4B – followed at P750 million in losses; next was the Ilocos region (Region 1) at P650 million, and Cagayan Valley (Region 2) at P620 million.
· high-value crops sector at P800 million, and
· fisheries subsector at P500 million.
Ongoing assistance efforts
Asec. De Mesa said that in terms of indemnification, or the so-called insurance for farmers and fishers, the DA has allotted P667 million and another P542 million for prepositioned seeds for farmers that are ready to plant.
Also, the DA has allocated P1 billion for the Quick Response Fund (QRF).
Moreover, the DA has made available P500 million for the survival recovery loan to affected farmers and fishers, which is a loan facility for interested beneficiaries amounting to P25,000 each and payable in five years—free of interest.
Over 86,000 farmers and fishermen are expected to receive the indemnity assistance. Of the number, 2,600 fishermen in Bicol received the assistance personally handed out by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his recent visit to the region, amounting to P24 million from the P667-M indemnification fund for Kristine survivors.
STS Kristine barreled through the Philippines in the last week of October, inundating a big part of the Bicol region and parts of Calabarzon (Region 4A). It affected the entire Luzon and Visayas island regions, even extending to parts of Mindanao in the south. (PIA DMD)
