BAGUIO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera assures of various support and intervention to the tropical storm-affected farmers in the Cordillera region.
DA-CAR Field Operations Division Chief Beverly Pekas said that the department is currently implementing measures as part of its validation procedures before, during, and after disasters and calamities.
As of October 28, 2024, the DA-CAR recorded a total of P19.8 million agricultural damages in the region including ,farm inputs and agricultural products based on farm gate prices.
A total of 824 farmers were affected by the recent Tropical Storm ‘Kristine’ in the region with around 228.80 hectares of rice plantation and 74.59 hectares of high-value crops.
DA-CAR continues to gather data on damages from the different provinces, which will serve as the basis for the department’s intervention after undergoing the validation process.
“The actions that we are currently undertaking are the monitoring of the actual field situation for damage and losses incurred in the agriculture and fisheries sector, the dissemination of advisory to our provincial Agriculture Program Coordinating Offices, local government units and farmer leaders on farm operation activities, coordination with other national and regional DRRM-related offices, as well as LGU counterparts in monitoring the impact of the tropical storm,” Pekas said.
The agriculture department assures that various forms of assistance in response to the needs of the affected farmers will be distributed such as agricultural inputs such as rice, corn, and vegetable seeds, drugs, and biologics for livestock, among other interventions, following validation.
Affected farmers may also access the P25,000 loanable amount from the Survival and Recovery Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, payable in three years at zero interest, and the indemnification of insured affected farmers through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (after undergoing the necessary validation and evaluation process.
Meanwhile, DA-CAR encourages farmers affected by the tropical storm to report to their barangay, municipal, city, and provincial local government units on the effects incurred by their farms due to the typhoon.
DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Jennilyn Dawayan reiterated the need for other affected farmers in the region to immediately report the damages they have incurred to their respective barangay, municipal, city, and provincial local government units for the department to validate these upon receipt of the reports, and to determine the specific interventions to be provided to the affected farmer. (JDP/RMC- PIA-CAR)
