Damage sustained to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures following the Kumamoto Earthquake has hit some 102.7 billion yen, according to prefectural estimates.

The figure is expected to continue rising amidst ongoing calculations. As of May 1, Kumamoto Prefecture -- which has the sixth-highest agricultural production value nationwide -- had sustained an estimated 102.2 billion yen in damages, which is the highest figure ever recorded in the prefecture.

Particularly serious has been the damage to storage reservoirs and rice paddies, which are both necessary for rice planting and other agricultural work. According to prefectural officials, damage to such facilities in 3,003 locations, including those in the cities of Kumamoto and Aso and the town of Mashiki, totaled around 36.92 billion yen.

In addition, costs from damage such as earth fissures in fields in a total of 2,721 locations have amounted to nearly 8.37 billion yen.

Kumamoto Prefecture produces the most rice in all of Kyushu. And with numerous rice farmers being forced to suspend their crops for the year, the blow from the earthquake damage is severe.

In an improved farmland district covering portions of the city of Aso and village of Minamiaso, some 300 hectares of agricultural land among the total of 3,002 hectares owned by the district's union members sustained rice paddy damage -- raising the possibility that the year's rice production will have to be called off.

In the village of Nishihara, near Aso, a leak was reported at the Ogiribata Dam storage reservoir used for irrigation, which has a total water storage capacity of 851,000 cubic meters. Water was drained from the facility to enable repair work, meaning that water was unable to be provided to some 200 hectares of agricultural land, despite the fact that rice planting season is now underway.

Meanwhile, damage in Kumamoto Prefecture to vegetables including eggplant and watermelon -- the latter of which the region is the highest producer in all of Japan -- has totaled around 87 million yen.

Minami Ward in the city of Kumamoto is one of the country's foremost eggplant-producing regions, distributing the vegetable under the brand name of Dekonasu. But damage to its sorting equipment has resulted in a total of around 90 tons having to be thrown away. The damage equates to losses of around 27 million yen.

The local livestock industry in the area, which is best known for Akaushi beef, also took a direct hit -- with a total of some 600 beef cows, 550 pigs, and 540,000 birds either dying or being culled following damage to areas including local cattle barns.

In Oita Prefecture, meanwhile, quake damage to agricultural areas and facilities has totaled some 466 million yen.

In the town of Kokonoe, the field ridges used for growing the local specialty of white onions sustained damage that made it impossible to harvest the crop.