Over 234,000 hectares of agricultural land could be affected by Typhoon Betty (international name: Mawar), the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operations Center said.

According to the DA-DRRM in a statement, the areas at risk include 159,116 hectares of rice and 75,029 hectares of corn, primarily in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), the Ilocos Region, the Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon.

The DA said its regional field offices (RFOs) have already prepositioned seeds, fertilizer, drugs, and biologics in safe storage facilities, and it is closely coordinating with the state weather bureau and other DRRM-related offices.

The department currently has some 681,205 bags of rice seeds; 21,192 bags of corn seeds, and 20,454 kilograms of assorted vegetable seeds for possible intervention once Typhoon Betty exits the country.

It also said affected stakeholders can tap the Survival and Recovery (SURE) Loan Program of the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) for up to P25,000 in loans payable in three years at zero interest.

Typhoon Betty entered the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) early Saturday morning, and has since decelerated to have maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour near the center. Eleven areas are currently under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal 1. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News

Published Date: May 29, 2023