The Department of Agriculture (DA) Tuesday said total damage to the farm sector caused by storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” has reached P18.4 billion, raising fears of a possible food shortage and vegetable smuggling as a result.

The death toll from the two devastating typhoons has also reached 688, with many more missing. The total number of affected victims has also reached 6.8 million, or 1.4 million families mostly in Luzon.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said crop losses may still rise as the department continues to receive reports from seven Luzon regions until Tuesday.

Pepeng has actually topped Ondoy in terms of damage to agriculture, with the typhoon destroying crops, fish stocks and infrastructure worth P11.7 billion.

Ondoy, which primarily swamped the National Capital Region (NCR), caused P6.8 billion in damage to the farm sector.

The DA's Central Action Center (DACAC) reported in its Situationer No. 140 that another low pressure area (LPA) hovers 560 km east of  Northern Mindanao but added that no cyclone threatens the country as yet.

The two typhoons destroyed 121,949 hectares of croplands, causing the loss of 925,523 metric tons of rice, corn, and high value crops as well as fishery products, livestock and poultry. The damage to farm infrastructure was P2.7 billion.

A total of 109,188 hectares of rice farms can no longer recover, followed by corn with 9,961 hectares and 2,800 hectares planted to high-value commercial crops (HVCCs).

All told, a total of 839,241 metric tons (MT) of palay was lost, followed by corn at 45,768 MT and 40,514 MT of HVCCs.

Ondoy's wrath was felt in 34 provinces and affected 201,225 hectares of croplands in all of Luzon's seven regions.

Damage to irrigation facilities in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Regions 2, 3 and 4-A amounted to P952 million. A total of 53,486 hectares are served by these facilities.

On the other hand, Pepeng ruined 291,063 hectares of croplands, with 596,492 MT of rice, corn and HVCCs lost. The total value of loss amounts to P11.7 billion, with P10 billion from crops, livestock and poultry and P1.7 billion from damaged irrigation facilities.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) reported the value of the damaged Communal Irrigation System (CIS)/National Irrigation System (NIS) at P1.8 billion. These systems covered 178,180 hectares of croplands.

The storms have also caused massive devastation that affected more than 1.4 million families or 6.8 million people.

The death toll from the twin calamities now stands at 688, with 493 injured and 85 missing.

Pepeng caused 351 deaths, broken down as follows: Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), 278; Region 1, 64; four each in Regions 3 and 5, and one in Region 4A. The 278 number of dead from the Cordilleras was reported by the CA-Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

However, the official validated count of fatalities by the National Disaster Coordinating Council is only 331, with 238 coming from the CAR.

Meanwhile, latest data released by the NDCC showed that Pepeng affected a total of 533,856 families or 2,546,101 persons. Those affected by Ondoy reached 880,175 families or 4,320,699. Combined, those hit by the twin calamities reached 6,866,800.

Meanwhile, the NDCC said United Nations Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes, arrived in the country October 12 for a two-day mission to see first-hand the need for emergency response to Ondoy and Pepeng.

Holmes met senior government representatives, including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, cabinet secretaries, the NDCC chair, and the UN Humanitarian Country Team.

An opposition lawmaker on the other hand warned of a possible rise in the smuggling of imported vegetables from China.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the skyrocketing prices and shortage in the supply of vegetables would cause the local market to be flooded with smuggled farm products.

He called on Customs Commissioner Napeleon Morales and anti-smuggling czar Antonio “Bebot” Villar Jr. to keep a watchful eye over all ports in the country.

“It’s not only the vegetable farmers in Northern Luzon who fall victim to (recent typhoons), but also the consumers. The prices of vegetables are now very high and smugglers will surely take advantage of the situation,” Marcos said.

The only son of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos said smuggling of vegetables from China remains rampant in the country despite government pronouncements to address the problem.

He suggested that confiscated farm products be sold at dirt-cheap prices in the markets of Metro Manila and use the proceeds to help typhoon victims, especially the farmers in flood-stricken areas in Northern and Central Luzon.

The Ilocano solon said Morales and Villar should curb the activities of vegetable smugglers at the nation’s entry points particularly in Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Palawan, Mindoro provinces, Iloilo, Cebu and even Boracay.

The twin disasters have also ruined government’s price ceilings on food items and exposed just how weak the supply chain is.

DA’s Yap admitted that landslides practically crippled the supply of vegetables in the NCR, which buys half of its needs from the Cordillera.