THE recent flooding brought by heavy rains left an initial damage worth P2.6 million to the rice sector in Negros Occidental.
On Friday, floods and landslide hit some portions of the province as a low pressure area (LPA) triggered heavy rains across the country, including the Visayas.
Initial reports from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) showed that rice farmers in Sipalay City covering about 69 hectares incurred almost P1.4 million in damage.
San Enrique reported a damage worth about P1.2 million covering almost 117 hectares of affected rice farms, it added.
Provincial Agriculturist Japhet Masculino said assessment and validation are still ongoing thus the amount of damage may still increase.
He said that aside from rice they are also checking the damage to other crops.
“We are now validating if affected farmers are covered by the province's insurance program for them to avail indemnity claims,” Masculino said, adding that damaged farms are in different growth stages.
Part of its intervention, the Provincial Government is also providing seeds to farmers with rice farms damaged by the calamity.
Masculino said they were able to acquire 5,000 bags of certified rice seeds from the Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas intended for immediate distribution to affected farmers.
The Provincial Disaster Management Program Division had earlier said that floods were also reported in the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay, and La Carlota, and towns of Hinobaan, Murcia, Binalbagan, and Pontevedra.