Cordillera native rice production for export hampered by El Niño

BANAUE, Ifugao – The Cordillera’s chances of gaining access to the lucrative world market for its heirloom or native rice suffered setback after the newly planted varieties for harvest by mid-year were destroyed due to the prolonged dry spell.

The “tinawon” variety of Ifugao, the “unoy” variety of Kalinga and several other native rice varieties from Mountain Province were reportedly lost after farms dried up due to lack of rain and water from irrigation systems.

Based on studies, native rice varieties need sufficient water for the first three months from the time it was planted to yield a good harvest.

Because of the prolonged drought in most parts of the country, the municipal council here declared the town under a state of calamity after the municipal agriculturist’s office reported that all the rice farms in the terraces have dried up over the past several weeks.

The declaration of a state of calamity will allow the local government to utilize its calamity funds to rehabilitate its irrigation systems.

For this year, the three Cordillera provinces are supposed to export a total of 25 tons of native rice to the United States where there is increasing demand for the grain.

However, agriculture stakeholders and local officials admitted that the farmers, who planted the native rice varieties for harvest in the middle part of this year, could no longer meet the required demand.

Native rice production is part of the initiative of the Regional Development Council to enhance rice self-sufficiency and support farmers because the varieties command a higher price in the international market because of their unique aroma and the organic way of farming in the region.

Agriculture officials have advised thousands of rice farmers in Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province not to plant palay anymore since it will eventually die due to extreme heat brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

Initial assessment conducted by agriculture offices in the three provinces showed nearly 30,000 hectares of native rice plantation sites were already affected by the prolonged drought. -- Dexter See