Typhoon Chedeng Threats Agriculture

Local radio stations here in Tabaco City Albay broadcast that Typhoon Chedeng is about to hit the region at around 10:00 in the evening. The province has yet recovered from Typhoon Bebeng which "visited" around two weeks ago. I can still remember I was in Tiwi Albay the morning Bebeng came. At around 5 am in the morning, before leaving home(in Tabaco) I thought it would be sunny that day. I was wrong. Four hours later, the Bebeng was felt already to large areas of Albay. The typhoon lasted 12 hours. Most of our bananas were damaged, trees were toppled, roofs were blown, electrical wiring sagged, debris were all around. The impact of which were greatly to the field of agriculture. The month of May is rice harvesting season and I was so saddened to see rice paddy kissing the rice field. What a waste! Had the typhoon did not occur, these rice were harvested.A day before the Typhoon came, we had our sampguita  production at an average of 2000 pieces per day. After the storm, we had lost 3/4 of our harvest. Saklap anu?

Here are some of the glimpse of the wrath of typhoon Bebeng in Albay. (Hopefully typhoon Chedeng won't come, she has no more to damage..:-)..Bebeng had taken all.

Bananas were severely damaged  as rain and strong winds hit the shrubs. Too bad. 

This was what the sampaguita plants looked like after the typhoon.  Flower buds were blown leaving only few resilient buds in the branches.

Swept. This photo was taken at the height of Typhoon Bebeng. Evidently, even trees cannot hold on to there roots. 

Sampaguita buds in there non-bloom stages. This photo was taken before typhoon. Buds were in good sizes, no red petals, , and were in three's to fives in every panicle. Too bad again, these were lost in just few hours.

Resistant? No it was not. This banana surrendered to the force of nature.

Damaged peanut plants. There is this old saying that lowly organisms won't be hit dramatically by typhoons. But this lowly plants were not spared.

45 degree banana. This banana plant soon was conquered falling into the sampaguita plants. consequence was, sampaguita branches were broken and severely damaged.

Coconut Swaying in the winds. This trees looked as if dancing in the rythm of the winds. Luckily,non of these trees were uprooted. 

Sampaguita Farming: A New Wave in Flower Industry

Samapguita (Jasminum sambac) is one of the agricultural businesses in Tabaco City Albay. Farmers of this flower earn a well enough living to support a family. Dubbed as the Philippines' National Flower, sampaguita is one of the most in-demand flowers in the market. It is characterized of small flowers that stay close in the morning and blooms at night. A truly majestic type of flower, its life is short, usually last only for a day. With the onset of technological advancement, sampaguita can now last for 2-3 days by freezing the flowers in a cold storage.