The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol has prepared buffer stocks worth PHP202 million as intervention for 13,623 farmers affected by Tropical Storm Enteng.

In a phone interview, Lovella Guarin, DA-Bicol spokesperson, said the assistance includes seeds of hybrid rice, corn, and assorted vegetables that are ready to be distributed to farmers in the various provinces in the region.

“We encourage our farmers to report their losses to their municipal agriculture offices. They can also avail assistance to the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) for their crop insurance claim,” she said.

She said based on the data, the initial estimates of agricultural damage in the region are now PHP350.85 million, or 14,814 metric tons of crops.

“The total affected areas were 8,893 hectares, including high-value crops, corn, and rice. The 5,797 had a chance of recovery, while the 3,096 had no chance of recovery,” she said.

Damaged corn, mostly in the vegetative and reproductive stages has reached an estimated 739 metric tons worth PHP14.01 million.

For the rice in the reproductive and maturity stages, it reached 13,887 metric tons, or PHP333.08 million.

For high-value crops, some 188 metric tons were lost worth PHP3.76 million. These include eggplant, squash, ampalaya, okra, sita (string beans), tomato, hot pepper, bottle ground, pechay, and cucumber.

Guarin said DA Bicol continues to assess the damage and losses brought by “Enteng” in the region. (PNA)