Eastern Visayas attains 115% rice sufficiency

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
January 20, 2008

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte  –  Region 8 attained a 115 % rice sufficiency in 2007, producing 950,000 metric tons of rice, Dr. Rufino Ayaso III, the Regional Rice Coordinator of the Department of Agriculture informed when he guested at the Panindugan television program of the Philippine Information Agency recently.

Dr. Ayaso said the Region has been consistently increasing its rice production in the past three years surpassing its annual target.

In 2005, the Regions total rice production was 788,000 metric tons while in 2006, this increased to 830,000 metric tons, Director Ayaso informed.

The 2007 rice production of Region 8 achieved a 17.7 percent increase, surpassing its annual target. In 2008, the Department of Agriculture in Eastern Visayas is targeting a one million 64 metric tons rice and in 2010, the target for Eastern Visayas is nine million metric tons.

Director Ayaso said that the Department of Agriculture said that the Region was able to achieve this target by its continuous advocacy on the commercialization of hybrid rice, the planting of Certified Seeds in low yielding areas and the application of location specific technologies.

For this year, Director Ayaso added that the Department of Agriculture will continue to work for the commercialization of Hybrid Rice particularly in Samar provinces where rice production is still low.

The Department of Agriculture will also strengthen the coordination with the Local Government Units particularly in discussing the rice development program of the provinces and strengthening the involvement of rice enhancement programs in the local government units in order to increase rice production.

Director Ayaso said that although the Region has already attained 115 percent rice sufficiency, the availability of rice is not at one time because there are several cropping season in the Region.

Hybrid Rice production in the Region will be encouraged not just in irrigated farms but also in rain-fed fields because the experience showed that there is still an increase in yield of farmers hybrid rice in rain-fed fields. The total yield in rice production is 4 metric tons per hectare of irrigated lands and 3 metric tons in rain-fed lands, Director Ayaso said.

Although the cost of Hybrid Rice seeds is P3,000.00 per hectare versus the lower cost certified rice, the Department of Agriculture is subsidizing P1,000.00. The remainder could be paid in advance by the Local Government Units as loans to the farmers and these are paid after harvesting.