Damage to agri sector from Ompong now P16.76B —DA

The damage incurred by the agriculture sector from Typhoon Ompong has reached P16.76 billion, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday.

“The damages and losses to the agriculture sector caused by Typhoon Ompong have reached P 16.76 billion, affecting a total of 636,908 hectares of agricultural areas with an estimated volume of production loss at 731,294 metric tons,” the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center said in a statement.

The amount is based on reports in Regions I, II, III, and IV-A, an primarily includes data on rice, fisheries, and fisheries facilities and equipment.

LOOK: Damage to agri sector due to #OmpongPH reached P16.76B, according to DA | via @Ted_Cordero pic.twitter.com/oNGZlkDAdK

— GMA News (@gmanews) September 19, 2018

The damage and losses in rice have increased to P11.45 billion, the largest share or 68.30 percent total damages and losses from Omopong.

“The high amount of volume loss in rice is due to these affected crops that are mostly on their reproductive stage," it said.

“Field validation is being conducted by the DA Central Office and concerned Regional Field Offices (RFOs)," according to the department. —Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News