MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Monday that it has ordered the swift release of PHP93.8 million from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to farmers in the Cordillera, Ilocos, and Cagayan Valley regions, who were insured and affected by the recent Super Typhoon Julian.According to Philippines News Agency, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. emphasized the urgency of the insurance claims release to facilitate the recovery of agricultural production in the affected areas. "We need to immediately indemnify our farmers to restore their financial health so they can quickly recover from this calamity. Fast-tracking the release of their insurance claims will foster confidence in the PCIC among our farmers and encourage more investors in agriculture," Laurel stated.The PCIC reported that approximately 10,781 farmers cultivating rice, corn, and high-value crops are covered by the insurance. These include 6,585 farmers from the Cordillera Administrative Region, 2,355 from the I locos Region, and 1,841 from the Cagayan Valley. PCIC President Jovy Bernabe committed to expediting the claim processes to support the affected farmers. "We have also issued strict instructions to our staff to assist affected farmers and speed up the processing of their damage claims," he said.In addition to the insurance payouts, the DA has also committed to distributing PHP166.67 million worth of agricultural inputs such as rice, corn, and vegetable seeds. Furthermore, the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC) is offering a PHP25,000 loan amount payable over three years at zero interest under its Survival and Recovery Loan program to support the farmers in restarting their agricultural activities.As of October 7, the DA has recorded approximately PHP607.38 million in agricultural damages across various regions due to Super Typhoon Julian, impacting a total of 33,110 farmers.