Rice farmers lost P46B to natural disasters

Because it is practiced in open areas, rice farming has been the hardest hit in the agricultural industry by typhoons, floods and droughts, according to a recent report released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

Based on Department of Agriculture data, the rice-farming sector incurred about P46 billion in production losses from 2007 to 2010, or an average of P11.5 billion each year, the PIDS report said.