BUTUAN CITY – At least 12,301 high-value crops farmers in Caraga whose areas were ravaged by Typhoon Odette in December last year have received aid from the region’s agriculture department, an official said Wednesday.
Caraga's farmers were among the most affected sectors during the onslaught of “Odette”, the Department of Agriculture in Caraga (DA-13) said.
Some 4,000 hectares of various high-value crops were damaged by the typhoon in the region, with an estimated cost of PHP4.4 million
“This is one way of giving our farmers hope to revive from the impact of typhoon Odette, and the government is always ready to help them out,” Marco Antonio Morido, the DA-13’s regional coordinator of the high-value crops development program (HVCDP), the agency said in a statement.
The DA-13 said it used the PHP31,123,930 budget for rehabilitation assistance under the agency’s 2022 Quick Resource Fund to assist the ailing high-value crops farmers in the region.
The fund was used to buy planting materials and farm supplies for cacao, lowland vegetable seeds, banana lakatan, banana-cardava, complete fertilizers, seedling trays, farm tools, and knapsack sprayers.
Under the HVCDP, Morido said the agency procured 490,231 bags and various planting materials and farm supplies for the affected high-value crops farmers in the region.
He said the materials have been delivered to the different local government units (LGUs) and affected farmers in the provinces,
Morido also recognized the support of the LGUs in the region, especially in the assessment of the damage suffered by the high-value crops farmers.
Meanwhile, Sandra Desoloc of the Surigao City agriculture office lauded the support of DA-13 to the affected farmers.
“On behalf of the LGU of Surigao City, we are grateful to DA-13 through the HVCDP for assisting our farmers by providing them with banana lakatan planting materials,” Desoloc said. (PNA)
