Region 2 to beef up rice output
>> Wednesday, August 24, 2022
By
Leander C. Domingo
BAYOMBONG, Nueva
Vizcaya -- With over 348,173 hectares of rice land in Region 2 (Cagayan
Valley), the Dept. of Agriculture and National Irrigation Administration are
set to increase rice production in the region.
DA-Regional Field Office 2 executive director Narciso Edillo said the DA and NIA in the region discussed strategies to easily identify areas for their respective pipelined projects.
Edillo said the discussion was for both the DA and NIA to be more efficient in the management and development of irrigable lands in the Cagayan Valley region which comprises the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and the island province of Batanes.
Engineer Monico Castro, chief of the DA Region 2 Field Operations Division, said their efforts were geared to increasing rice productivity.
"I am sure there are still factors that we need to address before we can attain sufficiency on a level of extremely high production. It is for this reason that we glance at those in this small scale irrigation project harmonization meeting," Castro said.
In Region 2, there are 292,182.36 hectares of irrigated rice lands, 48,636.22 ha that are rainfed, and 7,355.11 hectares in the upland.
Bagasin noted need to harmonize data and modes of reporting to polish how projects will be implemented.
Engineer Daisy Saldo of the DA-RFO2 Agricultural Engineering Division said irrigation was a significant contributor and a direct high factor in production.
In their discussion, it was agreed the NIA will be lead agency responsible for its management and development and while there were projects of the DA directed toward such, the two agencies form major intervention, Edillo said.
Also in their discussion, the DA and NIA said there was need to look at overlapping projects like small water impounding projects and small scale irrigation projects, harmonize baseline data, and come up with strategies that would hasten the implementation of projects in the tail-end irrigated areas.
The two agencies noted areas that have irregular precipitation, irrigation improves crop growth and quality.
"By allowing farmers to grow crops on a consistent schedule, irrigation also creates more reliable food supplies," the DA and NIA said.
Meanwhile, based on a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the DA said the country's national palay (unhusked rice) hit a record level at 19.96 million metric tons (Mmt) in 2021.
Dr. Ferdinand Cortez, DA-RFO2 public relations officer and broadcast unit head, said that based on a report from Dr. Marvin Luis, Region 2 Rice Program head, Cagayan Valley has contributed 14.58 percent to the national production making the region one of the top producers in the country.
Cortez said Isabela topped other provinces from 1.3 mt in 2020 to 1.4 mt in 2021 followed by Cagayan with 921,000 mt in 2020 and 1 mt in 2021; Nueva Vizcaya with 253,000 mt in 2020 and 308,000 mt in 2021; and Quirino with 110,000 mt in 2020 and 124,000 mt in 2021, which is 9.98 percent in the national production.
He said a bigger budget, focused plans and interventions, and hardworking farmers and industry partners translated to record-breaking sectoral performance as the all-time high marker hit the statistics.
Cortez said these include P15 billion for the national rice program and rice resiliency project, P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, P7 billion for the National Food Authority and P30 billion for the NIA.
DA-Regional Field Office 2 executive director Narciso Edillo said the DA and NIA in the region discussed strategies to easily identify areas for their respective pipelined projects.
Edillo said the discussion was for both the DA and NIA to be more efficient in the management and development of irrigable lands in the Cagayan Valley region which comprises the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and the island province of Batanes.
Engineer Monico Castro, chief of the DA Region 2 Field Operations Division, said their efforts were geared to increasing rice productivity.
"I am sure there are still factors that we need to address before we can attain sufficiency on a level of extremely high production. It is for this reason that we glance at those in this small scale irrigation project harmonization meeting," Castro said.
In Region 2, there are 292,182.36 hectares of irrigated rice lands, 48,636.22 ha that are rainfed, and 7,355.11 hectares in the upland.
Bagasin noted need to harmonize data and modes of reporting to polish how projects will be implemented.
Engineer Daisy Saldo of the DA-RFO2 Agricultural Engineering Division said irrigation was a significant contributor and a direct high factor in production.
In their discussion, it was agreed the NIA will be lead agency responsible for its management and development and while there were projects of the DA directed toward such, the two agencies form major intervention, Edillo said.
Also in their discussion, the DA and NIA said there was need to look at overlapping projects like small water impounding projects and small scale irrigation projects, harmonize baseline data, and come up with strategies that would hasten the implementation of projects in the tail-end irrigated areas.
The two agencies noted areas that have irregular precipitation, irrigation improves crop growth and quality.
"By allowing farmers to grow crops on a consistent schedule, irrigation also creates more reliable food supplies," the DA and NIA said.
Meanwhile, based on a report from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the DA said the country's national palay (unhusked rice) hit a record level at 19.96 million metric tons (Mmt) in 2021.
Dr. Ferdinand Cortez, DA-RFO2 public relations officer and broadcast unit head, said that based on a report from Dr. Marvin Luis, Region 2 Rice Program head, Cagayan Valley has contributed 14.58 percent to the national production making the region one of the top producers in the country.
Cortez said Isabela topped other provinces from 1.3 mt in 2020 to 1.4 mt in 2021 followed by Cagayan with 921,000 mt in 2020 and 1 mt in 2021; Nueva Vizcaya with 253,000 mt in 2020 and 308,000 mt in 2021; and Quirino with 110,000 mt in 2020 and 124,000 mt in 2021, which is 9.98 percent in the national production.
He said a bigger budget, focused plans and interventions, and hardworking farmers and industry partners translated to record-breaking sectoral performance as the all-time high marker hit the statistics.
Cortez said these include P15 billion for the national rice program and rice resiliency project, P10 billion for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, P7 billion for the National Food Authority and P30 billion for the NIA.
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