• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Damage to agricultural crops in Negros Occidental due to drought continues to rise, reaching P302,224,913 as of May 8, according to reports of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA).
Rice crops were hit the hardest with damage at P291,747,976.57; corn – P7,809,894.76; and fisheries – P2,667,042.
Dina Genzola, OIC-provincial agriculturist, said that the drought damaged 5,864 hectares of rice lands in 216 barangays in 28 of the 31 local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental, and has affected 8,285 farmers.
Three LGUs in Negros Occidental, including the cities of San Carlos and Kabankalan, and San Enrique town, have placed their respective areas under state of calamity to use their calamity funds to help the affected farmers.
The drought also damaged 178.91 hectares of corn land in 40 barangays in 12 LGUs, affecting 265 farmers in the province.
Kabankalan City is the hardest-hit with P99,624,716.80 worth of damage to rice crops. The drought affected 20 barangays and 3,430 farmers tilling 2,355.11 hectares of rice lands in the southern Negros city.
In terms of fisheries, worst-hit is the coastal town of San Enrique, where damage to fishponds affected P2,472,042 of semi-harvestable milkfish and P21,000 worth of tilapia fingerlings. | GB
