BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
The flashfloods that hit Negros Occidental over the weekend damaged P22.4 million worth of agro-fisheries and livestock products, Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said.
Masculino said damage to rice crops reached P15.1 million, covering 675.79 hectares of rice fields, and affecting 912 farmers in 42 barangays of Sagay, Cadiz, Talisay, Silay, Valladolid, and Manapla, as of yesterday.
Severe flooding also destroyed high value crops, worth P5.7 million, and affected 45 farmers in four barangays of Talisay and Silay, he added.
Four fishponds in Cadiz, San Carlos, and Talisay were damaged while four others in Sagay City and EB Magalona town were destroyed, the report added.
Several motorized banca, fishing gear, fish cages, lift and fyke nets, shallow water corrals locally known as tangkop, and oyster raft have also been destroyed.
Losses to the fishery sector amounted to P591,980, records showed. Meanwhile, Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena said yesterday that damage to livestock industry due to the recent flooding reached P1 million, and affected 36 barangays in Silay, Sagay, Talisay, Victorias and EB Magalona in northern Negros Occidental, and La Carlota, Bago, Pulupandan, Pontevedra, and Valladolid in the south.*
