MANILA – Tropical storm “Ondoy” (international name Ketsana) directly affected "more or less 130,000 farmers," an agriculture official said.

In a press conference, Agriculture Department undersecretary Jesus Paras said the tropical storm affected 137,000 hectares of rice fields, of which an estimated 90,000 hectares are in the province of Pampanga. Of these hectares, 18,970 have no chance of recovery.

Based on a summary report of the Agriculture Department as of October 1, damaged commodities amounted to P3.6 billion, while damaged facilities, infrastructure and equipment totaled P1.5 million.

Paras said agriculture chief Arthur Yap had ordered the realigning of the funds to assist affected farmers.

He added that farmers who have seed insurance have already been re-paid. Further, the department has coordinated with the local government units of the affected communities to provide needed certified seeds.

Once the flood has subsided, farmers can start plowing their fields but it will take an average of 120 to 140 days or 4 to 5 months before crops can be harvested.

Supply

Paras reiterated that commodity supplies are still adequate and that there is no need for an emergency importation.

“The surplus is more than enough,” the official said.

“Ondoy” damaged roughly 1% of the rice needs. “It is not that significant to cause emergency importation,” he said.

Aside from the rice sector, the fisheries sector also experienced millions worth of damages due to Ondoy. The most hit were the fishponds in Pampanga and Bulacan with losses that amounts to P127 million.

The corn sector only experienced losses of about P54 million while high-value crops such as fruits and vegetables has an estimated loss of P126 million. Paras said excess stocks in Visayas and Mindanao will be exported to Manila if the needs arise.

Losses in rice harvest from October to December is estimated at 190,000 metric tons of grains— 10% of the projected harvest of 6.4 million metric tons in the fourth quarter of the year.

Likewise, he added that rice production has increased in the first quarter of the year and the country recently imported rice to last for the whole year.

Employment and economy

To gauge the impact of a typhoon to the economy in general, economists and analysts usually track damages to agriculture, a key contributor to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

In previous years that production of crops in various areas of the country was hit--whether by typhoons, weather phenomenons like La Nina and El Nino, and others--the country's GDP growth was stagnant.

Based on the previous P3.17 billion estimate damage of 'Ondoy' on agriculture, the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) already said they may reduce the growth (GDP) assumption for 2009 to 0.7% to 1.7% from the earlier forecast of 0.8 -1.8%.

Impact of calamities to farmers' income and employment also affect jobs in general. 

Farmers, including those whose livelihood are connected directly or indirectly to fisheries and agriculture, account for a major chunk of the country's employment profile.