‘Odette’ agri damage rises to almost P60M

MANILA, Philippines – Damage to agriculture brought by Typhoon Odette (international codename Usagi) has reached P59.54 million, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Odette devastated rice, banana, corn and vegetables farms in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Regions I, II, IV-B and V.

The Cagayan Valley was the hardest hit region, incurring P25.91 million in production losses. The Ilocos Region, followed with P20.75-million losses.

The typhoon damage is broken down as follows:

Production

• Palay – P45.43 million or 2,630 metric tons (MT)
• Banana – P555,000 or 28 MT
• Corn – P372,600 or 12 MT
• Vegetable crops – P2.27 million or 155 MT
• Other crops – P10.91 million or 759 MT

Cultivation area

• Agricultural lands – 13,491 hectares, with 141 hectares having no chance of recovery
• Palay – 13,290 hectares, with 77 hectares having no chance of recovery
• Banana – 5 hectares, all may still recover
• Corn – 7 hectares, all damaged beyond recovery
• Vegetable crops – 51 hectares, with 28 hectares having no chance of recovery
• Other crops – 138 hectares, with 29 hectares having no chance of recovery

The National Food Authority will assist farmers in drying palay that could still be used, DA undersecretary Dante Delima said. Seeds for replanting will also be distributed among affected farmers. – Rappler.com