MANILA (PIA) -- The amount of damages by the recent rains and flooding caused by the shear line, low pressure area or LPA, and Amihan or Northeast monsoon in the agricultural sector has reached P746.5-million.

In the latest record of the Department of Agriculture-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center, there are 36,307 farmers affected in the country.

As many as 41,721 hectares of farmland were devastated in MIMAROPA, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga with an equivalent of 14,158 metric tons of volume loss.

The rice sector was most affected with more than 33,000 hectares damaged with the equivalent of more than half a million.

Currently, DA coordination with LGUs and other agencies continues for assistance to affected farmers including seeds and loan programs. (PIA-NCR)