NEWSFLASH

RATS INFEST FARMS IN WARAY PROVINCES

Tacloban City, Jan. 23, 2000 - Rodents are destroying farms in at least 30 towns in Samar, Leyte and Northern Samar.

The Department of Agriculture reports that the rat plague has spread to six towns in Leyte (Leyte-Leyte, Babatngon, Hilongos, Sta. Fe, Matalom and Baybay) and nine others in Samar (Jiabong, Calbiga, Villareal, Sta. Rita, Pinabacdao, Basey, San Sebastian, Sta. Margarita and Calbayog).

Earlier, the department placed the crop damage from the rat infestation at P4.6 million in the Northern Samar towns of Allen, Catubig, Bobon, Gamay, Laoang, Las Navas, Lavezares, Mondragon, San Jose, San Roque, Rosario, Pambujan, Victoria and Palapag.

In Samar, agriculturists said the rodents have eaten 10 to 50 percent of palay, mostly in the "tillering" and "panicle" stages (when stalks and leaves start to grow), in the nine affected towns.

Virginia Macanda, regional agriculture information officer, said the palay crops had just been planted a month ago.

Reports said the rodents destroyed at least 1,920 hectares of irrigated and rain-fed rice farms in seven of the affected towns, and ate some 6,310 cavans of seeds and seedlings.

The DA sent three technical teams to Samar to check on these reports.

Decoroso Asinas, Northern Samar agriculture head, said the rodents will surely destroy 80 percent of palay crops in the province, unless stopped soon.

To prevent more crop damage, five rat baiting stations have been set up in every hectare of ricefield, each station filled each day with 17 grams of Racumin, a poisonous substance. The rat control drive will go on for two months.

About 1,000 kilos of Racumin have been distributed to the rat-infested Northern Samar towns, each municipality getting at least 60 kilos.