The Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center assured on Tuesday that agricultural interventions are in place to mitigate the possible impact of rains caused by the low-pressure area (LPA) and the southwest monsoon (habagat).
Based on DA-DRRM Bulletin No. 2, seven regions are projected to be at risk: Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, and the Negros Island Region.
The combined consolidated areas in these regions cover 770,461 hectares, with 628,224 hectares planted with rice and 142,237 hectares planted with corn.
To support affected farmers, the DA has prepositioned agricultural inputs, drugs, and biologics, including 124,094 bags of rice seeds, 77,842 bags of corn seeds, and 12,080 bags of vegetable seeds.
The National Food Authority (NFA) also assured the availability of 2,378,903 bags of rice stocks for distribution to local government units and disaster relief agencies.
Registered farmers may also avail of the Survival and Recovery loan program under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, offering PHP 25,000 loans with zero interest payable within three years. Additional assistance includes indemnification under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation and access to the quick response fund for rehabilitation and recovery.
The DA-DRRM earlier advised farmers and fishers to harvest mature crops early, relocate equipment, animals, and fish stocks, and monitor local weather advisories to minimize the effects of inclement weather.