Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Storm ruins P50M worth of crops in Benguet
By Jane Cadalig
BAGUIO CITY -- Strong winds and heavy rains brought about by typhoon "Florita" last week destroyed more than P50 million worth of agricultural crops in the province of Benguet.
A report from the Provincial Agriculturist's Office (PAO) said P50,279,316 worth of agricultural commodities from two municipalities were ruined due to rains that lasted four days last week.
As of Monday, only the towns of Bakun and Mankayan submitted partial reports on crop damages to the PAO. At least 325 farmers and 223.68 hectares of farmlands in the two localities were affected by the typhoon.
The PAO said they could not yet give the exact details of damage to vegetables and fruits because the agency has yet to receive official reports from the affected areas.
The damages, aggravated by the landslides that destroyed various provincial roads, are causing rapid fluctuation of vegetable prices at the trading post in La Trinidad.
Dominador Dongla, supervisor of the trading facility, said prices fluctuate because of the unpredictable volume of agricultural crops.
This, he said, is due to the changing road conditions in the province, particularly Halsema Highway as it connects the farming municipalities of Benguet.
Dongla said most of the crops that reached the trading post are declared second class, either due to the damages caused by the typhoon or due to the natural decline in the quality of vegetables because of the delays caused by landslides. (Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)
(July 18, 2006 issue)
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