According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), agricultural losses due to Super Typhoon Uwan (International Name: Fung-Wong) and Typhoon Tino (Kalmegi) amounted to P743.83 million.
The DA said its updated estimate for crop damage was P188.27 million for Uwan and P555.56 million for Tino.
According to the DA's Disaster Risk Reduction Management Operations Center, Uwan caused the loss of 10,839 metric tons (MT) of rice, maize, cassava, high-value crops and livestock by volume, affecting 6,580 farmers.
Uwan affected an estimated 3,905 hectares of agricultural land in the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and Eastern Visayas regions.
Meanwhile, the DA increased its damage estimate for Tino to P555.56 million. The storm affected 20,362 farmers and 21,971 metric tons of rice, maize, high-value crops, cassava, livestock and poultry.
Tino affected an estimated 10,634 hectares of agricultural land in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western, Eastern and Central Visayas, and Northern Mindanao.
The DA said it has prepared P422.8 million in production inputs for affected farmers, in addition to its quick-response fund, which can be used for the rehabilitation and recovery of affected areas and compensation through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.
Affected farmers can also apply for a zero-interest loan of up to P25,000 under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council's Survival and Recovery (SURE) Program, payable over three years.
The DA said it has started providing hybrid rice seeds and fertilizers to Tino-affected farmers in Palawan, Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro.
The DA said it has also started distributing corn seeds to farmers in the municipalities of Allacapan, Gattaran and Rizal, Cagayan, which were along the track of Uwan. , Von Andrei E. Villamiel
