Close to P2 million worth of crops and livestock were damaged in 10 Cebu City mountain barangays after the heavy rains the past week.
The situation in the upland areas drove up prices of vegetables by as much as P10 to P20 per kilo, according to Assistant City Agriculturist Arleigh Gesta.
As of yesterday, some P1.9 million worth of crops were damaged while P53,000 worth of livestock in Barangays Sinsin, Sudlon I, Sudlod II, Paril, Malubog Mabini, Lusaran, Guba, Cambinocot and Binaliw were affected by the rains and the cold weather.
Six goats and three cows died in Barangays Tagbao, Tabunan, Babag and Lusaran.
A total of 23 hectares of land and 128 farmers were also affected.
The estimate does not include yet the damage in Barangay Sirao, which was badly hit by the rains, since personnel of the City Agriculture Department were still assessing the area yesterday to determine the extent of the damage there.
In an interview, Gesta said the prices of vegetables in Carbon market as of yesterday was P10 to P20 higher than what they sold for last week.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña said the City will provide assistance to the affected barangays and farmers.
To prevent further losses, Gesta said they already provided the farmers with farm inputs to guide them how to handle their damaged plants.
Fertilizers and seedlings that are ideal for the rainy season were also distributed to them so they can start planting again.