Rice harvests in the first quarter of 2017 increased by over 5 percent from a year ago, despite the smaller production area, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said over the weekend.
Piñol said rice production, based on the Philippine satellite monitoring data which validated on the ground, reached 4.14 million metric tons in January to March, up 5.3 percent from 3.93 million MT harvested in the same period last year.
He said the growth in rice output came despite the smaller production area of 997,687 hectares in the first quarter this year from 1.081 million hectares a year earlier.
Piñol attributed the growth in rice output to improved productivity in 2017.
Philippine Rice Research Institute executive director Sailila Abdula confirmed that for the first time in the history of rice farming, Filipino farmers posted a 4.15-metric-ton average yield per hectare per harvest this year, breaking the previous average of only 3.9 MT per hectare.
“The PRiSM satellite-generated data validated my earlier projection based on ocular appreciation that the country will enjoy a bumper harvest this planting season,” Piñol said.
He said the higher rice production was achieved despite the destruction caused by typhoon Niña which affected the Bicol region.
Bicol or Region V harvested just 159,611 metric tons from an area of 44,336 hectares out of the region’s rice area of 101,000 hectares, translating into a low average yield of 3.6 metric tons per hectare.
Central Luzon posted the highest average yield per region at 4.84 metric tons per hectare.
“The higher average yield in the Central Luzon area is credited mainly to the increasing number of farmers who are using hybrid rice seeds,” Piñol said.
Piñol said in Nueva Ecija where almost half of the farmers were already using hybrid rice seeds, the average yield per hectare reached 6.09 metric tons.
“The Department of Agriculture is promoting the nationwide use of hybrid rice seeds which have been proven to produce double the production average of inbred rice seeds,” Piñol said.
Piñol said with the improving rice productivity, the Philippines was on track to achieving self sufficiency in the staple by 2020.
“The national hybrid rice seeds program, along with the provision of small-scale irrigation systems, mechanization and the availability of easy credit and financing for the farmers, is expected to boost the country’s rice production and achieve rice sufficiency by 2020,” Piñol said.