Droughts, more colloquially known in the Philippines as El Niño, are definitely no joke! It’s every farmer’s worst enemy as it stunts the growth of their precious crops, costing them thousands, if not, millions in damages that build up until harvest when the crops are basically rendered useless or of very low quality.
This not only affects the already minuscule selling price of farmers’ crops, but more often than not, severely decreases the stock that they can sell to begin with.
With the drought from July 2023 still affecting the country even up to now, farmers have seen fit to claim indemnity funds from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) for damages. Eva Laud, PCIC W. Visayas Regional Manager, says that as of 2024, they have received around 12,800 notices of loss amounting to P76-M.
With P23-M already released to compensate for the damages, another P53-M worth of indemnity claims are yet to be released, following proper evaluation and verification protocols by PCIC personnel.
Some of the notices came from farmers from the following affected areas in Western Visayas:
- Aklan, Guimaras, and Iloilo: 3000
- Antique: 2000
- Capiz: 1000
- Negros Occidental: 800
The farmers are required to submit notices of loss 20 days before their supposed day of harvest, with those having harvest days this February already expected to have submitted their notices last month.
Laud calls for those expecting to lose their crops to take note of the 20 days prior to their harvest day for the claims adjuster to validate their claims and provide the proper indemnification.
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