Manila: Senator Francis Pangilinan on Monday emphasized the critical need for the government to prioritize the immediate restoration of typhoon-damaged farm roads and irrigation systems as part of its food security strategy. This call to action comes as agricultural losses from recent weather disturbances have reached an alarming PHP2.32 billion.
According to Philippines News Agency, Pangilinan warned that the damage to farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation systems, mechanization facilities, and dryers could exacerbate the impact of the southwest monsoon and recent tropical cyclones. This would hinder farmers' ability to resume production and transport whatever crops they manage to salvage to marketplaces.
Farmers and fisherfolk are among the hardest-hit sectors when weather disturbances such as the southwest monsoon and typhoons occur. "Roads and farms are damaged, which means not only are there no harvests, but whatever little they manage to salvage may have no roads to pass through," Pangilinan stated in a news release. He highlighted that the impact of flooding and crop damage extends beyond infrastructure and harvests, emphasizing that it is an issue of food security that affects urban communities as well.
Pangilinan urged the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Agriculture (DA), National Irrigation Administration, and local government units to conduct immediate assessments of damaged agricultural infrastructure. He stressed the importance of prioritizing heavily affected farming communities and ensuring that rehabilitation funds are properly utilized. Pangilinan advocated for rebuilding infrastructure resilient to increasingly severe weather conditions, rather than resorting to repeated repairs after each disaster.
The latest figures from the DA reveal that the enhanced southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Luis, Maymay, and Neneng have caused significant damage and production losses, affecting 69,615 farmers and fishers across eight regions. These weather disturbances have damaged 60,896 metric tons of agricultural produce over 62,732 hectares in regions including the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol Region, and Western Visayas.
Rice suffered the most significant losses, valued at PHP1.39 billion, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total losses, while high-value crops accounted for PHP692.21 million. The DA noted that assessment and validation efforts are ongoing, and further losses could still be reported.
