00:00The Department of Agriculture, or DA, projects one million hectares of rice fields might be affected by severe tropical storm Christine.
00:07The DA says staple grain farmlands from the Ilocos region, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Nimaropa, Calabarzon, the Beagle region, Carraga, and eastern Visayas might be affected,
00:19but the agency is confident the damage will not be that huge.
00:23That's because 60 to 70 percent of supposed mature crops have already been saved due to the prompt advisory given to farmers.
00:30For its part, the National Food Authority, or NFA, is continuously distributing rice to address the needs of those affected by the weather disturbance.
00:53There are areas that planted early, after the early harvest, they caught up with the second or third crop, so about 15 percent.
01:03Of course, if it's damaged, it's hard for them to recover.
