The Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center on Tuesday said agricultural interventions are in place amid the possible effects of the rains caused by the low-pressure area (LPA) and the southwest monsoon (habagat).

According to the DA-DRRM Bulletin No. 2, seven regions were projected to be at risk from the combined effects of the LPA and habagat: Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas and Negros Island region.

Consolidated areas in the aforementioned regions are around 770,461 hectares, with majority or around 628,224 hectares planted with rice and 142,237 hectares planted with corn.

Among the available interventions are prepositioned agricultural input, drugs, and biologics, the DA-DRRM said.

These include 124,094 bags of rice, 77,842 bags of corn, and 12,080 bags of vegetable seeds, it added.

For its part, the National Food Authority said it has 2,378,903 bags of available rice stocks for issuance to local government units and other disaster relief agencies.

Registered farmers who may be affected may also access the Survival and Recovery loan program under the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, worth PHP25,000 with no interest and payable for three years; indemnification under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation; and the quick response fund for rehabilitation and recovery.

The DA-DRRM earlier advised farmers and fishers to conduct early harvest for mature crops, relocate equipment, animals, and fish stocks and vessels, and monitor local weather advisories to help minimize the impact of inclement weather. (PNA)