Financial losses suffered by Taiwan's agricultural sector as a result of Typhoon Morakot had exceeded NT$10.66 billion (US$324.6 million) as of Friday, according to statistics released by the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture (COA). The figure is the second-highest since 1991, when the council started to keep such records, COA officials said, adding that the worst agricultural disaster was caused by Typhoon Herb in 1996, when agricultural losses of NT$18.08 billion were incurred. Damage to crops amounted to NT$3.58 billion as a result of Morakot, with 26 percent of the crops on 65,566 hectares of farmland lost, according to COA estimates. Bananas suffered the worst damage, with 5,800 hectares ravaged by strong winds and flooding, followed by papayas, guavas, custard apples, rice, bamboo shoots and leafy vegetables. Poultry and livestock losses amounted to NT$1.34 billion, with 119,476 hogs, 5,738,000 chickens and 1,088,000 ducks perishing in the storm. Meanwhile, 684 hectares of farmland worth an estimated NT$1.37 billion were washed away, with the eastern county of Taitung and Kaohsiung suffering the most. A total of 1,474 hectares of land in the two counties were buried under debris or carried away by floodwater. The agricultural losses also included an estimated NT$192 million in damage to farming facilities. The COA statistics also show that the aquaculture sector incurred an estimated NT$3.81 billion in financial losses, an 18-year high for losses resulting from a single storm. A combined 6,470 hectares of fish farms in southern Taiwan were severely damaged by Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in half a century. Of the damaged aquaculture farm areas, 1,531 hectares were coastal fish ponds. According to COA Minister Chen Wu-hsiung, farmers in 13 cities and counties will be entitled to cash relief, while those in 15 cities and counties will also be eligible to obtain low-interest disaster loans. The cash relief program will require roughly NT$100 billion, which will be taken from the Rural Development Foundation and other sources. The low-interest loans will be handled by the Bureau of Agricultural Finance. In addition, farmers with existing agricultural credit and low- interest disaster loans will be able to extend their principal and interest loan terms for one year, with the Agricultural Trust Fund guaranteeing 90 percent. Chen also said that vegetable and rice production will resume in three weeks, once the floodwater has receded. Poultry, livestock and aquaculture, which suffered heavier damage, might take longer to recover, Chen said. The COA estimates that poultry farmers will be able to resume production in about five to six weeks, but pig farmers and aquaculturists might not get up to full speed for another six months, he said. 