RICE CROPS. A rice field in Negros Occidental in this undated photo. Production losses among farmers and fisherfolk in Western Visayas (Region 6) have reached PHP356.12 million due to monsoon rains enhanced by Typhoon Goring in the past week, data from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-6 on Thursday (Sept. 7, 2023) showed. (PNA Bacolod file photo)
BACOLOD CITY – Agricultural production losses among farmers and fisherfolk in Western Visayas (Region 6) have reached PHP356.12 million due to monsoon rains enhanced by Typhoon Goring in the past week, a situational report of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-6 (RDRRMC 6) on Thursday showed.
Heavy rains and floods monitored for several days affected rice and other crops in the provinces of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Antique, and Guimaras.
“No damaged infrastructure, machineries, and equipment were reported,” the report submitted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) showed.
In terms of production losses, the worst hit was Negros Occidental logging a total of PHP144.51 million, with a loss in volume of 6,342.15 metric tons (MT) incurred by 3,735 farmers.
Affected crop areas totaled 4,200 hectares, of which 4,179 hectares were only partially damaged and have a chance of recovery.
Iloilo Province recorded PHP118.76 million in losses, but a higher loss in volume of 11,415 MT, affecting 3,500 farmers.
Its affected areas spanned 4,047 hectares, with 3,205 hectares having a chance of recovery, while 842 hectares were totally damaged.
Antique reported PHP77.21 million in production losses, amounting to a loss in volume of 4,226 MT.
Some 3,531 farmers were affected, but crop areas of 2,928 hectares out of 2,955 hectares still have a chance of recovery.
Guimaras has some PHP15.63 million in production losses, equivalent to almost 760 MT in volume.
There were 591 farmers who incurred losses, with 386.54 hectares affected crop area, of which 351.37 hectares have a chance of recovery.
Meanwhile, the Bacolod City government will distribute some 14,000 sacks of rice worth PHP40 million to registered residents affected by massive floods last week brought by monsoon rains on Sept. 9 and 10.
On Wednesday afternoon, the City Council approved the guidelines for the release of rice assistance in 70 distribution centers in various public schools and a special distribution site at the Regional Evacuation Center in Barangay Vista Alegre.
Some 344,000 individuals from all 61 barangays in the city are expected to receive two kilos of rice each.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said the amount came from the local disaster risk reduction management fund (LDRRMF) after the city was placed in a state of calamity last week.
“I realized that when we declared a state of calamity, not only four barangays were affected by floods, but the whole of Bacolod. Because of that, we proposed to extend assistance to everyone, to every single registered resident of Bacolod City. The impact of flooding was not just isolated to those who went to the evacuation centers,” he added. (PNA)
