Powerful Typhoon ''Rosita'' has left a heart-rending trace of destruction in lives and the agriculture sector, with more than 90,000 hectares of land smashed in the Cordilleras, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Saturday the agriculture sector damage had reached, as of weekend, P1.82 billion although the figure had yet to be validated.
In the meanwhile, the number of bodies retrieved from the landslide area in Natonin, Mountain Province in the Cordilleras had climbed to 14, according to local officials.
In a report by James Agustin on GMA News’ Balitanghali on Saturday which was heard nationwide, Natonin Mayor Mateo Chiyawan said of the 14 bodies recovered, 11 had been identified while three remained without identities.
The incident command post data still lists 12 bodies as having been recovered from ground zero as of Oct. 31, excluding the body parts, while 16 are still missing.
READ: Rosita’s death toll climbs to 22, government relief efforts ‘satisfactory’
But two bodies have since been found after search and retrieval operations in the area, which is near a creek, were extended up to seven kilometers from ground zero on Friday. Some 300 rescuers have been deployed for the operations.
Thirty percent of the operation remains at ground zero while 70 percent is focused on the creek itself and its nearby areas, according to witnesses.
Piñol said rice was the mos t affected commodity by the typhoon, the 18th to hit the country since January, as it recorded damage and losses worth P1.39 billion, affecting 4,921 farmers in Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mt. Province, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales.
“This commodity also contributes mainly to the overall damage and losses at 76.67 percent,” Piñol said.
“The affected area is now at 76,696 hectares out of the total rice standing crop of 543,993 hectares, while the volume of production loss is at 73,337 metric tons,” Piñol added.
“Region II is the most affected region in terms of damages and losses in rice amounting to P 1.20 billion (86.47 percent) with Isabela as the most affected province with an amount of P 745.15 million (61.84 percent),” he said.
For corn, the damage incurred was worth P47.02 million affecting 6,824 farmers in the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.
“The affected area is 6,317 hectares out of the total corn standing crop of 96,030 hectares. The estimated volume of production loss is at 519 metric tons. Most of the affected corn crops are on their seedling stage,” Piñol said.
“Region II is also the most affected region in terms of damage and losses in corn amounting to P45.11 million (95.90 percent) with Isabela as the most affected province with an amount of P 37.61 million [61.84 percent],” he added.
As far as high-value crops were concerned, Piñol said the damage and losses reached P373.86 million affecting 7,375 farmers with 7,040 hectares of area and an estimated production loss volume of 24,203 metric tons.
Affected crops included coffee; fruit trees such as banana, mango, and rambutan; and assorted vegetables in Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
For the livestock sector, the damage totaled P2.51 million affecting 20,408 head—comprising 20,334 poultry, 55 swine, 15 goats and 4 sheep—and 81 farmers in Isabela in Cagayan Valley.
READ: Thousands flee as ‘Rosita’ batters Northern Luzon