DA reports P3.7M initial losses in crops

By Connie Destura LEGAZPI CITY --- Losses due to Typhoon Urduja in the production of rice, corn and high-value crops, including vegetables and fruit trees that cover a total of around 1,449.51 hectares of farmlands have reached P3.7M, according to the Office of Civil Defense in (OCD) Bicol. “The Department of Agriculture (DA) (in its report to OCD) has estimated the value of production losses at P3.7 million,” said Claudio Yucot, head of OCD-Bicol and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC). He said there was a total of 1,449.51 hectares of farmlands affected: rice farms --309.51 hectares, corn areas --1,140 hectares. Yucot said the total number of affected farmers in the region were 1,282, most of them from Masbate, Sorsogon and Camarines Sur. Of this number, 516 were rice farmers and 766 corn farmers. These comprise “farmers from Aroroy, Palanas, Batuan, Mandaon and Uson, all in Masbate; the municipality of Bulan in Sorsogon province, and; the municipality of Buhi in Camarines Sur”, Yucot added.