国内英语新闻:China donates rice seeds to Typhoon-affected Philippine farmers

MANILA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday donated 10 tons of rice seeds to Philippine farmers to rebuild their lives in the wake of the most recent typhoons in the northern Philippines.

This is the fourth time China donates rice seeds to help Philippines' typhoon victims.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, donated 10 metric tons of Longping LP 205 hybrid rice seeds to Aurora Province which was ravaged by the typhoons of Karen and Haima.

"As a country prone to typhoon-related disasters each year, China feels for our Filipino friends in Aurora and our thoughts are always with those families most affected by the tropical storms," Zhao Jianhua, Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, said at the donation ceremony.

"Please stay assured, in such difficult times, a helping hand is all that the Chinese government and people have to render," he added.

Gerardo Noveras, governor of Aurora, lauded China's prompt response after he submitted a plea for help to the Chinese Embassy.

"I thought I would have to wait for a year for the help to arrive. I never imagined it has arrived so quickly," Noveras said at the ceremony.

He pointed out that the seeds arrived just in time for plantation, adding that the timely help will meet the urgent needs of the farmers.

After the donation ceremony, agricultural experts also provided a training session for the farmers on how to cultivate the donated rice seeds.

Typhoons Haima and Karen hit the northern part of the Philippines in October, destroying houses, tearing roofs off schools and ripping giant trees out of the ground.

The cost of damage to agriculture in areas affected by Typhoon Haima has been 10.2 billion pesos (200 million U.S. dollars) with the rice sub-sector sustaining the most damage, the country's Department of Agriculture has reported.