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Maconacon town in Isabela looks like a wasteland after it was hit by Typhoon Juan, which exited the Philippines on Wednesday. AFP PHOTO |
He added that rice crops suffered the biggest losses with more than P3.78 billion, followed by high value commercial crops (HVCC) at P598.41 million.
Meanwhile, corn crops suffered losses worth P312.29 million.
Of the 16 provinces hit by Typhoon Juan, Pangasinan suffered the biggest blow with reported damage of more than P1.4 billion, followed by Isabela with P898 million and Nueva Ecija with P588 million.
Based on the latest data provided by the Agriculture department, some 234,980 hectares of farmlands were affected by the super typhoon.
In CAR, the affected provinces include Ifugao, Apayao, Mountain Province, Benguet, Kalinga and Abra.
In Region II, the areas hardest hit were Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union.
In Region 2, the most affected areas were Isabela and Cagayan.
Among those taking the most damage in Region III were Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Aurora and Pampanga.
At least 218,020 hectares of rice lands in the 16 provinces were affected resulting in the loss of some 222,336 metric tons of palay (unhusked rice) worth about P3.78 billion.
The affected rice crops represented some 11.72 percent of the total 1.860 million hectares of rice lands set to be harvested during the last quarter of the year.
The production loss was estimated at 222,326 metric tons, or only 3.18 percent of the target of 6.9 million metric tons for the October to December period.
Some 13,280 hectares of corn plantations were destroyed or damaged by the super typhoon, resulting in the loss of some 23,976 metric tons, or P312.29 million worth of corn products.
The damaged corn areas only represented about 2.06 percent of the total 645,000 hectares targeted to be harvested also during the fourth quarter, which translates to a loss of only 23,976 metric tons, or 1.5 percent of the total 1.6 million metric tons forecast this year.
Other crops
Damage to HVCC reached more than 3,680 hectares or at least 16,809 metric tons of high value vegetables and fruits lost.
Salacup said that livestock and poultry—cattle, goats and chickens—lost to the calamity were valued at P29.6 million, mostly in the Ilocos, Pangasinan and La Union provinces.
The fisheries sector suffered losses of some 195 hectares of fish farms and 52 units of fishcages worth P46.7 million—with at least 4.7 million pieces of fingerlings and fry juveniles.
On top of that, some 350 metric tons of marketable fishes were also lost.
Salacup said that the cost of damage from Juan could still increase, since the Agriculture department is still “slowly getting” data from its field offices.
But he added that the damage from Juan, compared to typhoons such as Ondoy and Pepeng, was relatively smaller than what they had expected.
The typhoon also caused an increase in prices of highland vegetables by as much as P5 to P15 a kilo because of higher transportation costs and short supply.
Salacup said that the Agriculture department is coordinating with suppliers and producers of highland-grown vegetables in the Visayas and Mindanao to augment the supply shortage in parts of Luzon, particularly in the Metro Manila area.
Palace thanks US
Malacañang also on Wednesday welcomed the assistance of the US government to help Filipinos affected by Juan.
“Any aid and thoughts and condolences on the lost lives are highly appreciated,” deputy spokesman Abigail Valte said.
“Rest assured that assistance will certainly go to the ones who most needed,” she added.
US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said that he has instructed the US Embassy to provide assistance through the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The USAID plans to make available $100,000 to help Filipinos affected by Juan, considered the world’s strongest typhoon this year that left 19 people dead as of Wednesday.
The Palace appealed to the public to remain vigilant after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that Juan was still stationary over the South China Sea and could return to the Philippines.
“Our appeal to everybody is continue to remain vigilant,” Valte said. “In the past few days, we have seen how concerted action can help avert disaster and save lives.”
“Pagasa will continue to give us hourly bulletins on the progress of typhoon Juan as it continues to leave the Philippine area of responsibility,” she added.
To assist those affected by the super typhoon, Valte said that there have been some realignments made in the funds of the government to replenish the calamity fund for this year.
President Benigno Aquino 3rd, in his first State of the Nation Address in July, revealed that the previous Arroyo administration spent the P1.4 billion, or 70 percent of the P2 billion allotted for the calamity fund.
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