BAGUIO CITY – As part of its commitment of support to the tropical storm “Egay” affected farmers of Abra, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) has started the delivery of rice, corn, and vegetable seeds in the province including beneficiaries for the fertilizer discount vouchers (FDVs).
580 bags of certified rice seeds amounting to P580,000 has been brought to the province starting August 3 of this year, including 200 pockets of 5-in-1 lowland and 100 pockets of assorted vegetable seeds amounting to P300,500.
For corn seeds, DA-CAR has delivered 72 bags of OPV glutinous or white corn seeds amounting to PhP129,000 for 70 farmer beneficiaries, including 80 bags of hybrid yellow corn seeds amounting to PhP400,000 for 51 farmers.
1,702 beneficiaries in Abra have also started to receive their FDVs having a total amount of PhP3,805,906.
Abra Agriculture Program Coordinating Officer Rosemarie Tesoro explained that although these seeds were delivered in the province, these seeds were still not distributed pending validation of the planting site as most of the area for planting were washed out.
As of August 8, 2023, the agricultural damages reported to the DA-CAR operations center was recorded at PhP1.1 billion, with a production loss in terms of volume of PhP1.8 million metric tons.
The affected area was recorded to be at 22,392 hectares, while the affected livestock and poultry was recorded at 10,351 heads amounting to PhP21.8 million, while the damage to agriculture facilities was recorded at PhP11.1 million. The number of affected farmers and fisherfolks in the region was recorded at 43,906.
For the region, DA-CAR is currently finalizing the list of affected farmers and fisherfolks to determine the additional and specific support or interventions it will provide to the affected beneficiaries.
