Agricultural damage from the Southwest Monsoon, or Habagat, and recent cyclones has reached ₱689 million, with rice farms accounting for most of the losses, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Of the total agricultural damage, ₱451 million involved rice crops, with about 18,000 hectares of rice fields affected, according to JP Soriano's report on "24 Oras Weekend."
DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa, the agency's spokesperson, said around 15,500 hectares of the affected rice fields were partially damaged and still had a chance of recovery.
Nearly 3,000 hectares, however, were totally damaged, he said.
Pampanga recorded the biggest agricultural losses at ₱131 million, followed by Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan.