Mount Bulusan unrest leaves P17-M agri damage

FILE: Inaabisuhan ang mga motorista na iwasang bumiyahe muna kung hindi naman kinakailangan papunta sa mga apektadong lugar sa mga bayan ng Juban(Puting Sapa, Buraburan, Catanusan, Anyog, Mabini, Rangas, Calateo, Sipaya, Aroroy at Maalo) at Irosin. (Photo: Sorsogon Provincial Information Office/Facebook)

MANILA – The initial agricultural damage following the phreatic eruption of Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon has reached PHP16.86 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday.

As of noon, the DA said almost 380 hectares of land have been affected by volcanic emissions in the area, where 90.64 percent of the land were rice farms; followed by high-value crops (HVC), attributing to 8.76 percent; and fisheries at 0.59 percent.

In a statement, the DA said hundreds of farmers and fishers were affected in three municipalities in Sorsogon.

“DA Regional Field Office 5 has reported damage and losses for rice, lowland vegetables, and fisheries amounting to Php 16.85 million affecting 473 farmers and fishers and 389 hectares of agricultural areas with a volume of production loss at 695 metric tons in the municipalities of Juban, Casiguran, and Irosin in Sorsogon,” the DA said.

Initial figures showed 343 hectares of rice land in Sorsogon were damaged, resulting in 686-metric tons of damaged harvest worth PHP15.28 million.

The agricultural sector also lost eight metric tons of high-value crops, amounting to PHP1.48 million. Around 1.7 metric tons of tilapia have also been wasted at a PHP100,000 cost.

The DA, meanwhile, assured affected farmers and fishers of assistance through the distribution of rice, corn, and other seedlings; drugs for livestock and poultry; survival and credit programs; indemnification under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation; and the utilization of their quick response fund for rehabilitation.