CANLAON CITY, Negros Oriental – At least 1,794 rice farmers in Canlaon City have been severely affected by the recent devastation brought by Typhoon Tino, excluding those engaged in high-value crops such as vegetables, bananas, coffee, sugarcane, and livestock, according to agriculture officials on Friday.
The City Agriculture Office reported that assessment teams are still consolidating data on the total damage to the city’s entire agricultural sector. Initial estimates, however, were based on 1,808.10 hectares of rice fields, with 40 percent of these areas in the vegetative stage, 70 percent in the reproductive stage, and 90 percent already reaching maturity when the typhoon struck.
According to Melo Jean Villamonte of the Canlaon City Agriculture Office, who presented the report during an inter-agency meeting at the Incident Command Center, the affected rice fields could have generated a gross income of over P115 million had they not been damaged. However, with most of the crops now deemed unrecoverable, the city is estimated to have lost around P74 million in rice production alone.
Known as the “Vegetable Basket of Negros Oriental,” Canlaon’s cool climate allows for the abundant cultivation of highland vegetables, such as lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, and tomatoes. The city’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, making it one of the largest producers of farm products on the island of Negros.
City Information Officer Seth Bariga said that a majority of the affected population are farmers, and some rural communities remain isolated due to landslides and damaged roads.
“For now, local efforts are focused on rescue and recovery operations,” Bariga said./coa
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