A farmer’s group on Tuesday called on key government agencies to release the cash aid for farmers and their families who were affected by Typhoon Quinta as they also struggle with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) must “urgently release” cash aid amounting to P10,000 to farmers severely affected by successive typhoons.
The KMP said the amount is just a fraction of their losses due to the typhoons and the ongoing pandemic.
The group added that Typhoons Nika, Ofel, Pepito, and Quinta resulted in millions worth of agriculture losses.
The hardest hit are Bicol, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon Province), and Cagayan Valley regions, all of which are considered rice granaries.
In Camarines Sur, the damage to agriculture and fisheries are estimated at P225.38 million. In Sorsogon, it amounted to P60.9 million.
Oriental Mindoro is the hardest hit as a rice-producing province. KMP reported that almost 80 percent of agricultural crops were damaged because of the typhoons.
That’s an estimate of P261 million worth of rice crops and P253 million worth of banana crops in Pinamalayan town.
October is harvest season in Luzon. Before Typhoon Quinta, the farmer’s group already expressed concern that the prices of palay will plunge further because of the devastation the typhoons will cause.
"While there was P9.1-billion worth of rice and corn crops harvested right before Quinta made landfall, the government, particularly the DA, must not undermine the effects and agri losses from successive typhoons,” KMP chair Danilo Ramos said.
“Immediate relief, rehabilitation efforts, and productions subsidies are necessary and must be provided to farmers," he stressed.
Currently, loans are made available to farmers and food producers. The KMP, however, said the farmers need more than loans to survive the typhoons and the pandemic.
They need cash assistance and subsidies, the group added, calling on government-owned Landbank to turn their agricultural loans into cash aid.