BACOLOD City – At least 1,646 hectares of agricultural farms were damaged by massive floods in Negros Occidental in the past two weeks.
The Jan. 8-11 data of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) showed that combined rice areas of 1,574.49 hectares in 65 barangays were flooded.
This brought the total damage and production losses to the province’s rice sector to P37.5 million.
The affected 1,642 farmers have rice fields in Sagay City, Cadiz City, Manapla, Talisay City, Silay City, Bago City, Valladolid, and Pontevedra.
For the high-value crops (HVC) sector, some 24.44 hectares of farms in nine barangays in the cities of Escalante, Cadiz, Talisay and Silay were also flooded.
The OPA reported that 281 farmers were affected, incurring P8.17 million in damage and production losses.
Meanwhile, floods also hit 49.2 hectares of corn farms in 15 barangays of Sagay City, affecting 58 farmers who posted about P1.12 million worth of crop damage.
Also damaged were diversion dams and intake structure in Silay City and E.B. Magalona amounting to P111,000.
Although farms in southern Negros localities, including the rice areas of Bago City, Valladolid and Pontevedra, were also affected, the floods mainly struck some eight local government units in the north on Jan. 1 and 8.
Hardest hit were the cities of Silay, Talisay and Victorias, and E.B. Magalona town in the third district, which were all placed under a state of calamity.
Affected farmers may receive an indemnity for their damaged farms if they have enrolled under the province’s crop insurance program in partnership with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp.
Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino urged farmers to file their notices of loss as a requirement in processing their insurance claims. (With PNA/PN)
