Manila: The Department of Agriculture's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center on Tuesday announced that agricultural interventions are organized to address the potential impacts of rainfall from the low-pressure area (LPA) and the southwest monsoon, also known as habagat.

According to Philippines News Agency, the DA-DRRM Bulletin No. 2 identified seven regions likely to be affected by the combined effects of the LPA and habagat: Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Negros Island region. These regions collectively cover approximately 770,461 hectares, with around 628,224 hectares dedicated to rice cultivation and 142,237 hectares planted with corn.

The DA-DRRM has prepared various interventions, including prepositioned agricultural inputs, drugs, and biologics. Specifically, they have readied 124,094 bags of rice, 77,842 bags of corn, and 12,080 bags of vegetable seeds. Additionally, the National Food Authority has stated that it holds 2,378,903 bags of rice stocks available for distribution to local government units and other disaster relief agencies.

Registered farmers who might be affected are eligible to access the Survival and Recovery loan program under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, offering PHP25,000 with no interest and a three-year repayment term. They can also benefit from indemnification through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation and utilize the quick response fund for rehabilitation and recovery efforts.

The DA-DRRM has previously advised farmers and fishers to undertake early harvests of mature crops, relocate equipment, animals, and fish stocks, and closely monitor local weather advisories to mitigate the impact of adverse weather conditions.