DA: Odette damage to agri sector hits P11.5B

Typhoon Odette caused P11.5 billion worth of damage to the agriculture sector as of January 7, surpassing last year's total agricultural losses from all storms.

The DA reported that 405,921 farmers and fishers were affected across 435,447 hectares of land in various regions including Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, and Caraga.

Fisheries suffered the most with P3 billion in losses, followed by rice at P2.6 billion, high-value crops like banana and cacao at P1.6 billion, and coconut at P1.5 billion.