Continuous heavy rains in Cagayan, Pangasinan, and Batangas have led to severe flooding, submerging newly planted rice, and leaving farmers to deal with significant losses.
“Lost, rotten,” Ernesto Molina, a farmer, said.
“Nothing will happen... we'll just plant a new one,” Edwin Sinamag, another farmer, added. Several rice fields in Sta. Teresita and Cagayan have turned into lakes due to relentless rains. Crops that are just two weeks old are now underwater.
The flooding has also affected rice fields in Sta. Ana, Aparri, Enrile, Lal-lo, Amulung, and Camalaniugan.
“So far we have not seen how big his impact is on [agriculture], because only a few municipalities are sending their reports,” Ruelie Rapsing, a Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) officer in Cagayan, said.
In Mangaldan, Pangasinan, the rice fields in Barangay Anolid were also submerged.
Andres Ramos, a farmer, is disheartened, as his crops, planted four months ago and due for harvest in September 2024, is now underwater.
“I only have a little fertilizer left... I've used more than six sacks,” Ramos said.
Ramos said this is a double blow to farmers who were just beginning to recover from the long effects of El Niño.
The Municipal Agriculture Office, in collaboration with the Disaster Council, is conducting monitoring efforts to assess the situation.
Rodolfo Corla, a DRRM officer in Mangaldan, said while the rain benefits upland farmers who rely on water pumps and gasoline for irrigation, it severely affects low-lying areas where rice fields are flooded by rising water volumes from upstream.
“In the low-lying areas [that] are planted with rice, they are affected because the volume of water from upstream has slightly increased,” Corla said.
In Bangued, Abra, farmers are also experiencing significant losses as their rice fields are flooded and newly planted seedlings are washed away by the bad weather.
These farmers, who had followed the cropping season, did not anticipate the storm's severe impact. The Municipal Agriculture Office is now assessing the agricultural damage caused by the typhoon and the southwest monsoon.
In Batangas, rice fields were also submerged across several barangays, with damage to agriculture reaching P36.2 million. In Nasugbu, approximately 100 hectares of rice fields were affected.
Local officials reported that while some areas have seen the water levels recede, places such as Bunducan, Putat, and Talangan are still experiencing high water levels.
“Others subsided already the water — subsided already; [but] there is an area outside the water, this part of Bunducan, Putat, Talangan,” Mayor Antonio Barcelon said.
Crops such as rice, corn, and high-value crops like vegetables and fruits have been affected, according to the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO). Authorities assured support for affected farmers. PAO will provide planting materials and seeds to help with replanting and land preparation.
“We're always ready, right? 'The distribution of planting materials, seeds again, [and for] the preparation of their lands again. That's how we will help them again,” Dr. Rodrigo Bautista Jr., Provincial Agriculturist, said.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) is actively coordinating relief operations across the province to assist communities hit hardest by the heavy rains and flooding.
Source: GMA
