CORN DAMAGE. An estimated 177 metric tons of ready-to-harvest corn crops were destroyed in a flash flood in barangays Tuga and Lanna, Tabuk City, Kalinga late Saturday afternoon (July 30, 2022). Danilo Daguio, regional technical director for field operations of the Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region, said on Monday the agency is now ready to release yellow hybrid corn seedlings to assist the affected farmers. (PNA photo courtesy of Danilo Daguio)
BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) is ready to distribute 13,880 kilograms of corn seeds to help farmers affected by the flash flood that occurred in Tabuk City, Kalinga province over the weekend.
In a report obtained on Monday, the DA said the flash flood that occurred past 5 p.m. on Saturday flattened corn plants estimated at 177 metric tons of ready-to-harvest crops amounting to PHP3,009,000.
In the same report, the DA said at least 30 farmers in barangays Tuga and Lanna were affected by the incident.
The agency said the more than 13,000 kilograms of hybrid yellow corn variety worth PHP249,000 are now ready and available for distribution to the affected farmers.
Danilo Daguio, DA-CAR technical director for operations, on Monday said "corn farmers cannot hold back their tears seeing their corn plants, in their flowering stage, that were uprooted, flattened or buried in mud."
The flash flood resulted from heavy rains that poured over Tabuk City.
Daguio said "the plantations are along the banks of a creek which is one of the tributaries of Chico River".
He said overflowing of the creek and flash flood incidents are perennial problems in the city in recent years.
"This can be attributed to cultivation of forests and pasture lands into corn areas," he noted.
It can be recalled that on the first week of July, a flash flood also affected Banaue, Ifugao, destroying houses and different agricultural products. (PNA)
