BAGUIO: Prices of vegetables from the Cordillera region remain stable as of Tuesday amidst the PHP11.93 million crop damage by Super Typhoon Carina, the Department of Agriculture in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) said.
As of 4:30 p.m. on Monday, the DA-CAR’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Information Service reported an initial PHP11.93 million worth or 24.39 metric tons of high value crops from 129.78 hectares of plantations damaged by Carina.
Minimal damage were logged on rice, corn, and cassava.
At least 402 farmers were affected by the typhoon, which enhanced the southwest monsoon and brought continuous rains even after the typhoon.
Despite of the damage, data provided to the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday show that wholesale prices of vegetables even decreased compared to Monday.
Price of cabbage declined by PHP2 to PHP3 pesos per kilogram, with an average price of PHP15 to PHP18; carrots by PHP15 to PHP20, with an average of PHP50 to PHP65 per kilo; and potato-granola by PHP2,
with an average of PHP58.
A kilo of sayote remains stable at PHP15 while the first class Chinese cabbage is higher by PHP3 from its previous price of PHP9 per kilo.
Aida Pagtan, Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Service (RAFIS) chief of DA-CAR, said current monitoring in the local market shows sufficient supply of vegetables.
‘Based on market monitoring in Baguio City and La Trinidad, there are sufficient supply as residents have not yet went out to buy volumes for the family,’ she said.
Local government units in the Cordillera have posted on their official social media pages calling on farmers to report situation on the farm, specifically the area planted, the kind of crop, stage of the plant and to submit photo documentation in a bid to make reporting faster.
‘As of now, we cannot give the actual supply data but looking at the trend in pricing, it is fluctuating. We need to wait for a while but rest assured that reporting is being fast-tracked,’ Pagtan said.
Lawyer Jennilyn Dawayan, DA re
gional director and head of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the Department is ensuring the provision of rice, corn, and vegetable seeds to farmers affected by the recent calamity and has a Quick Response Fund (QRF) that would cover the rehabilitation of affected farms.
‘We are currently gathering and assessing reports on crop damage and losses in the region, including affected livestock coming from the local government units. The regional field office will then have to jointly validate the reports for DA-CAR to identify what specific intervention may be provided to the affected farmers,’ she said.
DA-CAR has repositioned its seed reserve to include 204,564 kilos of hybrid, inbred registered, and inbred certified rice seeds; 45,000 kilos of white and yellow corn seeds, and 564.70 kilos of upland and lowland seeds that may be distributed to the affected farmers in the region.
The supply is part of the La Niña preparedness plan of the DA which was laid out during the height of the El
Niño.
DA also has the Survival and Recovery loan (SURE) program from the Agriculture Credit Policy Council (ACPC) and the crop insurance that the Philippines Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) will provide which can help augment the financial losses of the farmers.
Source: Philippines News Agency