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MORAKOT: THE AFTERMATH: Agricultural losses mount, exceed NT$11.1 billion

Financial losses suffered by the nation’s agricultural sector as a result of Typhoon Morakot exceeded NT$11.1 billion (US$337.4 million) as of yesterday, according to statistics released by the Council of Agriculture (COA).

The figure is the second-­highest since 1991, when the council started to keep such records, COA officials said, adding that the worst agricultural disaster was caused by Typhoon Herb in 1996, when agricultural losses of NT$18.08 billion were incurred.

Damage to crops amounted to NT$3.69 billion as a result of Morakot, with 27 percent of the crops on 67,992 hectares of farmland lost, COA estimates showed.

Bananas suffered the worst damage, with 5,849 hectares ravaged by strong winds and flooding, followed by papayas, guavas, custard apples, rice, bamboo shoots and leafy vegetables.

Poultry and livestock losses amounted to NT$1.36 billion, with 119,476 hogs, 5.9 million chickens and 1.1 million ducks perishing in the storm.

Meanwhile, 684 hectares of farmland worth an estimated NT$1.37 billion were washed away, with Taitung and ­Kaohsiung counties suffering the most. A total of 1,474 hectares of arable land in the two counties was buried under debris or carried away by floodwater.

The agricultural losses also included an estimated NT$192 million in damage to farming facilities.

The COA statistics also show that the aquaculture sector incurred an estimated NT$3.81 billion in financial losses, an 18-year high for losses resulting from a single storm.

A combined 6,925 hectares of fish farms in southern Taiwan were severely damaged by Morakot. Of the damaged aquaculture farms, 1,531 hectares were coastal fish ponds.

COA Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄) said farmers in 13 cities and counties would be entitled to cash relief, while those in 15 cities and counties would also be eligible to obtain low-interest disaster loans.

The cash relief program will require roughly NT$100 billion, which will be taken from the Rural Development Foundation and other sources. The low-interest loans will be handled by the Bureau of Agricultural Finance.

In addition, farmers with existing agricultural credit and low-interest disaster loans would be able to extend their principal and interest loan terms for one year, with the Agricultural Trust Fund guaranteeing 90 percent.

Chen said that vegetable and rice production would resume in three weeks, once the floodwater has receded.

Poultry, livestock and aquaculture, which suffered heavier damage, might take longer to recover, he added.
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