Rice farmers in areas flooded by ‘Lando’ need gov’t help

“LANDO” (international name: “Koppu”) was not a particularly strong typhoon like “Yolanda” in 2013, but it dumped so much rain and its fringe winds lingered around for days after it arrived last Monday. Although the eye of the typhoon exited Luzon’s landmass through Ilocos Norte Monday night, it moved so slowly – 4 kilometers per hour – so that its winds and rains continued to affect the country.

After hitting land in Casiguran, Aurora, Sunday morning, “Lando” crept north-northwestward, dumping rains over three mountain ranges and the lowlands of Northern and Central Luzon. From the mountains, the water flowed down the rivers to the plains. The three major dams of Magat in Cagayan and Ambuklao and Binga in Benguet were quickly filled, compelling authorities to open the gates to release the water, adding to the floods in the lowlands. Baguio City reported that in a period of only 20 hours Monday night, it received almost two months volume of rainfall.

By Tuesday, “Lando” was on its way to Taiwan in the north, but behind it were 246 villages under water and at least 20 dead. The rains have stopped but danger remains as flood waters continue to flow down the mountains to the rivers and the towns below.

One group of people that urgently need government assistance are the farmers who were preparing to harvest their rice crops when “Lando” came. The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) has asked the government for the following assistance – a moratorium on their land rents and on amortization and immedate purchase of their palay, wet or dry, by the National Food Authority. The KMP also asked the government to extend them full subsidy for the next production season.

With the destruction of so much of the area’s rice crops, the government is already thinking of importing more rice from Vietnam, on top of the 750,000 metric tons it has already ordered because of the El Niño drought. The drought has suddenly given way to a massive flood, but the net effect on rice production has been basically the same – a big shortage.

Importation will assure that prices will remain low for the general public, the consumers. But that special sector of the population, the farmers, should be equally assisted by the government. Their appeal for a moratorium on their payments and purchase of their crops, wet or dry, will be of great help to them.