The volume of palay produced in 196,570 hectares of harvested farms in Western Visayas in the first three months of 2021 went up by 4.23 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Rice Program focal person Elmer C. Cabusas, the additional 4,235 hectares of harvested area led to the increase in production volume, and a growth of 0.7 metric tons per hectare yield across ecosystems.
In the first quarter, Iloilo topped the national chart in unhusked rice production with 355,040 metric tons.
Although the area harvested was reduced by 377 hectares, Iloilo gained a 6.46 percent increase in production. The yield went up to 3.8 MT per hectare in irrigated areas and 3.31 MT per hectares in rainfed communities.
Capiz ranked second with 119,637-MT production volume after an 8 percent decline in production.
Negros Occidental produced 77,550 MT, Antique with 65,235 MT, Aklan with 22,794 MT, and Guimaras with 14,122 MT, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Only the provinces of Iloilo and Antique posted growths in the first quarter.
Cabusas said the production increase is due to the expansion of rice areas, particularly in Antique where an additional 8,363 hectares of land were planted to palay.
“The agricultural inputs, including quality seeds and fertilizers that were provided to the farmers, had influenced the overall palay production performance in the region in the first quarter. Another helpful factor is the good climatic condition,” he said.
On top of the regular interventions under the Rice Program, local farmers also benefitted from the free seeds and fertilizer under the Rice Competitive Enhancement Program (RCEP) and the Bayanihan’s Rice Resiliency Project (RRP) 2 which was intended to boost rice farming in the dry cropping season.
Cabusas noted that Western Visayas rice growers obtained 65,805 bags of certified seeds under RCEP, and 55,732 bags of hybrid seeds under the National Rice Program, Bayanihan 1 and 2 funding. A total of 162,425 bags of fertilizer were also distributed that further amplified the production volume in the recent harvesting period. (Sheila Mae H. Toreno/DA-RAFIS 6)