Photo courtesy of Naga City Government.
QUEZON CITY (PIA) — The Department of Agriculture assured that it is ready to replant farms damaged by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami) once the floods subside.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Oct. 24 that the department has already prepositioned the seeds and other inputs in agricultural areas on the path of the storm.
The DA has also initiated early harvesting among farmers and stepped up the rice-buying activities of the National Food Authority (NFA) as preemptive measures to minimize the damage and increase rice buffer stock.
Laurel said, “Unfortunately, the effects of La Niña, particularly Kristine, will hurt our production as we are already at harvest period this wet season. It is sad news that areas ready for harvest have been reportedly flooded.”
The agriculture chief, however, said a bright note is that around 70 percent of the area planted to rice during this wet season has already been harvested.
“For now, we have to wait for the actual report to ascertain the damage and the interventions that we need to do to help our farmers and fisherfolk recover quickly from this calamity,” he said.
Laurel also directed the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), a government corporation under the DA, to immediately process insurance claims to help farmers recover from the damages caused by the storm.
The DA chief is currently in Washington, DC, to attend the discussions on agriculture and food at the World Bank’s 2024 annual meetings.
The DA Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP) has forecast a loss of about 358,000 metric tons in the projected palay harvest of 19.41 million metric tons this year, down from the total last year due to the dry spell caused by El Niño and increased rainfall because of La Niña.
Despite this, Undersecretary Christopher Morales, who is in charge of the Rice Industry Programs, said that rice supply by the end of this year should reach 3.83 million metric tons, enough to cover national consumption for 100 days, helped by timely rice importation.
The Department of Budget and Management earlier released to the NFA the P9 billion palay procurement budget for the fourth quarter of the year. The agency said this amount would be enough to buy 7.2 million 50-kilo bags of palay at a price of P25 a kilo. (PIA DMD)
