THE Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) has noted higher production losses among rice farmers in San Enrique town due to recent heavy rains and flooding brought by Southwest Monsoon or “habagat” which affected some portions of the province.
From P1.3 million on September 6, OPA reported on Monday, September 10, that the amount of damage increased to P2.7 million.
The figure still covers 59 affected farmers with combined areas of 95.76 hectares of rice farms in three barangays of the southern Negros Occidental town.
The progress report, covering the period of September 3 to 6, further showed that 50.02-hectare of the affected farms are in the reproductive stage.
Another big portion, at 41.74 hectares, is in the vegetative stage while the remaining four hectares are in maturity stage, it added.
With calamities, especially typhoons, expected to hit the country in the remaining months of the year, OPA again urged local farmers to insure their crops by enrolling in Negros First Universal Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP).
The program of the Provincial Government, which is in partnership with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC), provides enrolled farmers P17, 000 in claims per hectare of damaged farms.
This is on top of P50, 000 premium worth of life insurance.
Unlike of the previous years, the Provincial Government now shoulders the full enrollment premium per cropping season of P840.