INFRA DAMAGE. Personnel of the Department of Agriculture, together with municipal agriculture employees in Abra towns, inspect an irrigation canal that was damaged during the magnitude 7 quake that struck northern Luzon on July 27, 2022. As of 9 a.m. Friday (July 29, 2022), the regional agriculture office has validated an initial agriculture infrastructure damage of PHP11.5 million in Abra's 11 municipalities. (PNA photo from DA-CAR RAFIS)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Cordillera region on Friday estimated at PHP11.5 million the initial agriculture infrastructure damage caused by Wednesday’s magnitude 7 earthquake in 11 municipalities in Abra.
Dr. Cameron Odsey, DA-Cordillera director, said in a phone interview that agricultural damage in irrigation systems amounted to PHP6.97 million, while farm structures incurred PHP4.53 million worth of damage.
“This is just initial in Abra. We expect this to increase as the days pass,” Odsey said.
He said they have sent teams to Abra as early as July 28 to assess the situation.
“Just like the instruction of our President (Ferdinand Marcos Jr.), our people are doing the assessment together with the personnel of the municipal government,” Odsey said.
Abra has 27 municipalities, mostly engaged in agriculture with rice, corn, fruits, and vegetables as products.
He added that aside from damage assessment, the personnel on the field are also looking at the appropriate interventions needed by farmers, which would be the basis for additional actions of the regional agriculture office.
On Friday, the DA-Cordillera sent two trucks each carrying two tons of assorted highland vegetables to Abra to initially serve seven towns.
The regional office had also submitted a request to the central office for the immediate release of PHP148 million that will be used as a quick response and initial action of the agency to help farmers affected by the earthquake that hit Luzon, with Abra being the hardest hit.
“We asked for the amount because (the) damage report will take time and we need to do urgent action to help our farmers,” Odsey said in an interview on Thursday.
He also relayed the President’s guidance to them that the goal is to maintain the quantity of food produced or increase it to assure food sustainability, especially with the impending world food crisis as an effect of the Russia-Ukraine war.
“We have been guided by the President’s direction, that is why we are not waiting until we get the damage report before we act and provide assistance to our farmers. Our request to the central office is an immediate intervention and followed by the actions that will result from the damage assessment being done right now,” he added. (PNA)
