Super Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong) caused extensive damage to farmlands in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, with fields of onions, tomatoes, and other vegetables destroyed by heavy rains and flooding shortly after the storm crossed the region.
Images taken by Del Jesus M. Lacre, a resident of Sitio Tumana in Barangay Bantug, showed widespread crop losses as farmlands remained submerged under floodwater. Lacre, originally from Cagayan de Oro but now based in Nueva Ecija, said the storm hit just as many crops were approaching the harvest stage. "Some were able to harvest, but others did not make it. There were still a lot of crops, especially in the upper parts, that were about to be harvested (before the supertyphoon destroyed them)," he said.
Farmers who managed to harvest early are selling eggplants at about US$0.87 per kilogram (P50/kg). Retail prices in the local market, however, have reportedly increased to between US$1.22 and US$1.39 per kilogram (P70–80/kg). "But it's different here in Talavera because if there is an abundant harvest, once the middlemen buy all the produce from the farmers, the prices still go up in the market," Lacre added.
He also recalled a past crisis involving onions, one of Nueva Ecija's main crops, when prices reached as high as US$8.67 per kilogram (P500/kg). "Even small farmers who sold the crop at the time were buying it at P500 a kilo," he said, referring to the market disruption that led to raids on cold storage facilities after supply shortages and price spikes.
The widespread damage to newly planted vegetables across the province signals possible supply shortages in the coming months. Farmers already facing physical losses from the typhoon may also experience financial strain as reduced harvest volumes are expected to drive food prices higher in the regional market.
Source: Inquirer
