BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Even though the losses in agricultural crops in Negros Occidental due to recent floods have already hit P110 million, the supply of these products in the province will not be affected.
The assurance came from Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino, who added that price increases in agricultural products could not be blamed on the flood devastation alone.
A report submitted by OPA to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson last week said that flood damage was at P20 million from Jan. 1-5, P86.7 million from Jan. 8-13, and P3.33 million from Jan. 16-29.
The P20-million five-day losses involved 1,576 farmers and fisherfolk and affected 783.74 hectares of farm lands in 43 barangays of Sagay, Cadiz, Victorias, Silay, Talisay, and E.B Magalona.
In the Jan. 8-13 monitoring, the losses in agricultural industry affected 2,998 farmers and fisherfolk with 2,334.91 production areas ravaged by floods in 151 barangays of Escalante, Sagay, Cadiz, Victorias, Talisay, Silay, Bago, Manapla, Valladolid, Pontevedra, and E.B. Magalona.
From Jan. 16-29, an additional 316 farmers and fishermen from San Carlos, Sagay, and Toboso reported losses due to floods after 104.866 hectares of farms and ponds were inundated.
Masculino earlier said that the value of damage brought by the massive flooding to the crop and fishery sector of Negros Occidental this month has already surpassed the amount of losses incurred by the province in the whole of 2020. He said the one-month damage is higher compared to the P65.38 million worth of agro-fishery losses incurred by the province from January to December 2020.*
