.gif "Philippine Information Agency - Caraga Regional Office")
BUTUAN CITY, August 30 (PIA) -- Department of
Agriculture - Regional Field Unit (DA-RFU) Caraga revealed that the region has
a sufficient production of palay and positive rice sufficiency level.
Caraga DA-RFU Operations and LGU Support
Regional Technical Director Edgardo Dahino during the Rise for Rice Support the
National Year of Rice Legislators’ Congress on August 29 said the region has
rice sufficiency level of 78.33 in 2011 and remarkably increased to 86.89 in
2012 and the subsequent years.
"Based on the Caraga Rice Sufficiency Level
and Utilization data from 2011-216 with a
population of 2,429,224 and growth rate of 1.5 percent based on 2010
NCSB Survey, the region will have 100.24 sufficiency level in 2013 and expected
to increase on the following years under normal condition," Dahino added.
Dahino said the region has a rice sufficiency
level starting in 2013 and will rise to 111.90 in 2014; 112.22 in 2015; and
111.08 in 2016 granting that all variables like weather condition, population, increase
of harvested area, palay production and yield and other agricultural factors
are considered.
It was revealed that there was low productivity
of palay in 2011 and 2012 since the region was affected by the typhoons Sendong
and Pablo. In 2012, the Caraga has a total harvested area of 155,041 hectares
that actually produced a total of 469,205 metric tons (mt.) of palay which
yield at 3.03 mt. per hectare. Data presented shows that in 2012, Agusan del
Sur has the highest palay production of 240,381 mt. followed by Surigao del Sur
with 84,550 mt., Agusan del Norte with 73,595 mt., Surigao del Norte with
64,852 mt. and Dinagat Province with 5,827 mt.
The 2013 Food Staples Sufficiency Program (FSSP)
of the DA Caraga has a target of 547,484 mt. In the first semester of 2013, the
actual production reached to 315,568 mt.
"With a good weather condition, we have our
second semester FSS production target of 231,916 mt. which has an incremental
target of 35,612 mt. compared to the 2012 second semester actual production of
196,304 mt.," Dahino added.
He revealed that the DA Caraga has already
prepared strategies and interventions in order to achieve the increased palay
production and its yield and rice sufficiency in the region like through the
openning of new areas of 3,383 hectares for rice production; the restoration of
3,733 hectares rice areas; the ratooning of 11,518 hectares; the provision of
high quality seeds (HQS) to irrigators associations (IAs) and farmers
association (FAs) under pay now pay later (PNPL) plan with hybrid seeds,
certified seeds (CS), and registered seeds; the CS subsidy from LGUs; the
availment of weather-based (WB) insurance; and the provision of farm inputs
like Zinc Chelate, Rodenticide, and Bactericide. (FEA/JSN/PIA-Caraga)
