RECENT heavy rains and flooding brought by Southwest Monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm Falcon have left a total of almost P19 million worth of damage and crop production losses in Negros Occidental.
Final report of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) showed that the figure comprises 1,636 affected farmers with 2,580-hectare of rice and corn plantation in 61 barangays of seven localities.
OPA reported that the rice sector incurred the highest amount of losses worth P17.7 million.
The figure covers 1,584 affected farmers with 2,529.31 hectares rice fields in 59 barangays of six local government units (LGUs).
Bago City, the rice granary of Negros Occidental, incurred the highest losses amounting to about P6 million. It was followed by Valladolid with almost P3.8 million; San Enrique - P3.2 million; Hinigaran - P2.9 million; Ilog - almost P1.1 million; and Moises Padilla - P609,366.
The rice sector, on the other hand, noted a damage worth almost P1.3 million.
OPA reported that 52 farmers of 50.70-hectare corn plantation in two barangays of San Carlos City were affected.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) in Negros Occidental earlier reported an initial of 511 rice farmers in the province who have filed notices of loss to avail indemnity claims through the Negros First Crop Insurance Program (NFUCIP).
These notices of loss filed as of July 25 cover only about 1,300-hectare farms in 21 LGUs in the province damaged due to bad weather.
After filing the notices of loss, the PCIC has yet to conduct an adjustment to determine the exact extent of damage to the farms.
The filing of the notices of loss is one requirement under the NFUCIP, an initiative of the Provincial Government in partnership with the PCIC.
Implemented starting 2011, the program is providing enrolled farmers of P17,000 claim per hectare of damaged farms.
Based on the modified guidelines of the program, the enrollment premium per cropping season is shouldered by the provincial government as a loan.
For crop alone, the enrollment premium is P840 per farmer.
In the previous coverage, only P500 is being shouldered by the province while the remaining P340 is the counterpart of the farmer-enrollees.
If including the life insurance, the province pays P1,175 in enrollment premium per farmer to the PCIC.
Under NFUCIP, enrollees should apply for insurance before planting and farms covered by the program are those planted for not less than 25 days.