To further assist the Banaue farmers who were affected by the flash flood incident on July 7, 2022, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) has come up with a Rehabilitation Plan amounting to Php4, 419,944.00. The Plan will be proposed to the DA-Central Office’s Quick Response Fund for budget consideration.
The Rehabilitation Plan will focus on production support services which will cater to the procurement of assorted vegetable seeds, livestock and poultry with supplements, HDPE hose, and soil ameliorants.
The plan was based on the post-damage needs assessment which was conducted by the Provincial Emergency Operation Center (EOC) and Task Force that is composed of the concerned Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer (APCO), DA-CAR Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) personnel, and the Local Government Units (LGUs).
DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Cameron P. Odsey, in an interview, assured the public that the vegetable production in the region remains stable and will not be affected by the recent incident. Moreover, the agency will continue to provide the necessary interventions to help the affected farmers recover from their losses.
It was recalled that the flash flood with mudslides and erosions in Banaue, Ifugao last July 7 was caused by the continuous rains due to Habagat. It affected six barangays namely Poblacion, Taman, Bocos, Poitan, Amganad, and Viewpoint. In the final crop damage report of the DA-CAR DRRMO dated July 14, 2022, it showed that there was a total of Php10.9 million damage on agriculture affecting a total of 756 farmers. These farmers are mostly into rice, high value crops, and livestock and poultry.
Last week, the DA-CAR has already distributed its available buffer stocks of assorted vegetable seeds worth P340, 860.00 as initial assistance.
