By Junex Doronio
MANILA — For the Department of Agriculture (DA), the sun still shines brightly after the Super Typhoon Carina and the agency is always ready to deploy various forms of assistance to the affected farmers.
In its latest tally, the DA said damage and losses sustained by the agriculture sector due to the devastation caused by ‘Carina’ and the Southwest Monsoon or Habagat have reached nearly P400 million.
On Saturday, DA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Arnel de Mesa admitted that the agency did not expect a shortage of supply in rice, corn, and high value crops as the country had a “very strong” harvest last year.
“‘Yung dry season harvest natin ay maganda rin,” De Mesa said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
In a statement, the DA said it is ready to deploy various forms of assistance to affected farmers.
“Best possible efforts are also being undertaken to carry out assistance and appropriate interventions to the affected farmers,” the DA said.
The agency said it would promptly deploy the following forms of assistance:
• 72,174 bags of rice seeds, 39,546 bags of corn seeds, 59,600 pouches and 1,966 kilograms of vegetable seeds
• Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) with loanable amount of up to Php 25,000 payable in three years at zero interest
• Quick Response Fund (QRF) for the rehabilitation of affected areas
• Available funds from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to indemnify affected farmers
“The DA-DRRM Operations Center will continuously provide updates regarding the combined effects of the Southwest Monsoon and Typhoon Carina,” the DA added.
(el Amigo/mnm)
