The convergence of cold northeasterly winds from temperate countries up north with the warm easterlies of the Pacific have brought thunderstorms to farm areas in the Philippines that damaged crops worth an estimate P64.07 million, the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
Called a shear line by weathermen, this narrow zone of extreme weather conditions stretch over parts of farm lands that as of 1:00 PM Friday, 19 January, damaged 689 metric tons of crops tended by 5,737 farmers working on 7,121 hectares of productive real estate.
According to the DA, the damage wrought on 6,742 hectares planted to rice resulted to a production loss of 49 metric tons valued at P57.55 million. High-value crop damage or loss was estimated at another P5.41 million cultivated in 307 hectares and the production loss of another 595 MT.
Corn crop damage aggregating 45 metric tons worth an estimated P1.10 million impacted another 73 hectares of land in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro.
The DA said its regional field offices are monitoring the situation to assess the impact of the shear line and determine the needs and available resources that can be used as intervention measures.
