No rice shortage due to cyclones, DA assures

There will be no rice shortage this year despite the massive damage caused by tropical storm "Ondoy" and typhoon "Pepeng" to rice crops in the country, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday. According to the DA, Ondoy alone damaged P5 billion worth of rice crops. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the loss will most likely bring down this year's rice production growth target from nearly 4 percent to only 1 percent to 2 percent. But Yap assured that there will be no rice shortage within the year. "The supplies are okay," he said in an interview with reporters during the House hearing on the DA's 2010 budget. The DA is also prepared to import rice from other countries if necessary, said Yap, although he refused to disclose the volume of rice they may purchase from abroad. "We will leave that to the NFA (National Food Authority) because we can't announce the volume we are going to buy," Yap said. "We can't announce when we are going to buy because it will affect prices. if it affects prices, the government will have to spend more."
DA data showed that Ondoy, which carried record rainfall in Luzon last September 26, caused P5.5 billion worth of damage to various crops and P821 million to agricultural facilities. The P821-million damage to infrastructure consisted of P817 million to irrigation facilities, P2.7 million to the fisheries sector, and P1.3 million to the livestock sector. Typhoon Pepeng, which wreaked havoc in Northern Luzon last Saturday, caused about P550 million in damages to agriculture, Yap said. The Agriculture chief, however, said the loss figures could still go up because the department will still assess the total damage once the floods have subsided. Yap said a "typhoon mitigation fund" must be included in the yearly budget of the department to enable it to swiftly address production losses should natural disasters strike. Aside from relief, the DA plans to immediately provide seeds to farmers affected by the cyclones, he said. - GMANews.TV