A total of 14,775 metric tons (MT) of palay was produced in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 in the province of Guimaras, higher by 4.62 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2021 at 14,122 MT.
The bulk of the palay yield for two comparative-quarters (Q1 2021 & Q1 2022) came from rainfed farms.
“Both the rainfed and irrigated palay farms displayed a good increment in the 1st quarter of 2022 than the same quarter of 2021, wherein yield from rainfed palay farms grew by 3.96 percent while the irrigated farms’ yield increased by 6.26 percent,” Provincial Statistical Officer Nelida B. Losare said.
Losare said the main contributor to the 14,775-MT harvest in Q2 of 2022 came from rainfed palay with 10,447 MT, comprising 70.71 percent, while the remaining 29.29 percent (4,328 MT) came from irrigated palay farms.
The increase in palay yield is attributable to the 149 hectares expansion of the area harvested totaled at 5,632 hectares, which is larger than the area harvested during the Q1 of 2021, with 5,483 hectares showing an increment of 2.72 percent.
“The area harvested for irrigated palay increased by 4.31 percent from 1,323 hectares in Q1 2021 to 1,380 hectares in Q1 2022, while the rainfed palay area harvested rose by 2.21 percent from 4,160 hectares in Q1 2021 to 4,252 hectares in Q1 2022,” Losare said.
Significantly, the large proportion originated from the rainfed palay with 4,252 hectares translating to 75.50 percent share of the total area harvested in Q1 2022. The remaining 24.50 percent belongs to the irrigated palay farms with 1,380 hectares of area harvested.
Region VI (Western Visayas) produced a total of 646,288.48 metric tons (MT) of palay in the first quarter of 2022, wherein the largest share of 52.77 percent originated from rainfed palay with 341,048.64 metric tons, and the remaining 305,239.84 metric tons came from irrigated palay.
The province of Iloilo is the major contributor to WV’s palay yield in the first quarter of 2022, sharing 53.62 percent (346,539 MT) of the regional total. Followed by the province of Capiz with 19.56 percent (126,392.73 MT), Antique with 10.14 percent (65,558 MT), and Negros Occidental with 8.46 percent (54,690 MT).
“Aklan and Guimaras had the lowest contribution to the total palay production of the region in the first quarter of 2022, sharing 5.93 percent (38,333.75 MT) and 2.29 percent (14,775 MT), respectively,” Losare said.
