MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday remained hopeful in meeting its target of 20.44 million metric tons (MT) of local rice production for the year.
In an interview, DA Undersecretary for Rice Industry Development Christopher Morales said they are implementing various mechanisms to achieve the yearend production target, considering the effects of typhoon Aghon and the El Niño phenomenon.
“We’re still optimistic kasi nandun naman iyong target natin e (because we have our target). We are aiming for that. We are doing our best to achieve that but syempre hindi naman natin mahawakan iyong (of course, we cannot control the) external factors affecting our rice production,” he said.
Morales said interventions to affected farmers include the delivery of farm inputs, monitoring of agro-meteorological conditions, as well as ongoing programs under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), hybrid rice program, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) programs, and collaborations with various pr
ivate sectors.
According to the DA- Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operations Center, the southern parts of Luzon, including Calabarzon, and Mimaropa, sustained PHP81.84 million worth of damages in 948 hectares of agricultural land affected due to Aghon.
This includes damage in the rice sector, mostly in the reproductive and maturity stages, worth PHP25.09 million, equivalent to 1,091 MT in terms of volume.
Meanwhile, the El Niño phenomenon has so far left PHP9.50 billion worth of loss, with the rice sector incurring PHP4.60 billion worth of damages, or 185,561 MT in terms of volume, in 83,862 hectares of farmlands.
Morales assured that the rice supply in the country remains stable, with supplemental volume coming in from importation if needed.
“The production forecast and also the incoming import based on SPSIC (Sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance), hindi naman siya ganoon ka-critical sa ngayon (it’s not that critical for now),” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency