Damage to agriculture due to combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon and Typhoon ''Ferdie'' surpassed P600 million.

In its latest report, the Department of Agriculture said as of Thursday the recorded damage reached a total of P600.83 million.

According to the DA, the weather disturbance affected a total of 11,170 farmers, with a volume of production loss at 27,427 metric tons and 11,696 hectares of agricultural areas in Mimaropa, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula. '

There is no reported damage and losses recorded for tropical storms ''Gener'' and ''Helen''.

The DA said 93.66 percent or majority of the affected crops were rice with a volume loss of 26,072 metric tons and a total value amounting to P562.75 million.

Other crops affected by the weather systems were corn with volume loss of 912 metric tons and total value of P19.04 million, 443 metric tons of high value crops amounting to P18.22 million and 55 heads of livestock and poultry that costing around P819,000. Robina Asido/DMS