Tropical cyclones and monsoon impact over 75K farmers, PHP12.84B losses

Nearly 75,000 farmers and fisherfolk have been impacted by tropical cyclones Emong, Crising, Dante, and the southwest monsoon, causing agricultural losses of PHP2.25 billion and infrastructure damage of PHP10.59 billion as of August 1.

Rice crops suffered the most damage, accounting for 40,300 metric tons in losses valued at PHP1.27 billion, representing 0.20 percent of the country's annual rice production target.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is providing aid packages including production inputs and insurance claims from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. to help farmers recover.

Interest-free loans up to PHP25,000 are available under the Survival and Recovery Assistance Program offered by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council with flexible payment terms over three years.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that 77,798 farmers and fisherfolk have been affected, with a total of 48,843 houses damaged and 6,707 destroyed.

As of this posting, the number of affected families has reached 2.27 million, consisting of 8.26 million persons residing in 8,503 barangays across 17 regions nationwide.