THE Office of The Provincial Agriculture (OPA) has reported that the agriculture sector incurred an estimated damage of P276 million from the heavy rains caused by recent tropical cyclones and the southwest monsoon.
The rice production sector sustained the biggest damage estimated at P191.656 million.
Thousands of farmers are affected from Mabalacat City and City San Fernando and the towns of Magalang, Floridablanca, Sta. Rita, Lubao, Guagua, Porac, Mexico, Sto. Tomas, Sta. Ana, Apalit, San Simon, Candaba, San Luis, Minalin, Arayat and Bacolor.
The fishery sector in the coastal towns of Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin and Sasmuan also incurred a damage of P81.901 million.
Masantol town recorded the biggest damage at P21.88 million, followed by Sasmuan at P55.614 million, Minalin at P3.36 million, and Macabebe at P1.04 million.
The OPA also recorded a loss of P1.256 million in the corn and cassava sector of Mabalacat, Floridablanca, Guagua, Porac, Mexico, Arayat and Angeles. High value crops amounting to P1.299 million were also damaged.
While the weather has been fair in the past few days, farmers in the province, particularly those from low-lying areas, continue to reel from their losses as most of their farmlands and fishpens are still submerged in floodwaters.
Based on the data of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, 69 barangays from the fourth district towns of Apalit, Macabebe, Masantol, Candaba, San Simon, Minalin and San Luis are still flooded.
Farmers and fishermen from the said towns are now seeking the assistance of the Department of Agriculture to recover from the losses they incurred due to the onslaught of recent typhoons.
