DA seeks additional P940-M funding for El Niño measures on rice production

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture (DA) is seeking additional funding of P940 million to mitigate the impact of the prevailing dry spell to palay (unmilled rice) production.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary for field operation Edilberto De Luna said  a proposal had already been sent to the Department of Budget and Management for the additional funding that would be allocated for adaptation and mitigation programs in rice-producing provinces.

Citing a report by the weather bureau, De Luna said major rice production areas expected to be severely affected by the dry spell include Region 1 (Ilocos), Region 2 (Cagayan), Region 3 (Central Luzon), Region 4-B (MIMAROPA), and Region 6 (Bicol).

The additional funding is on top of the budget of the DA-National Rice Program and the P500 million quick response fund allocated for calamity response.

Out of the proposed additional budget around P618 million would be allocated for water management, P259 million for production support, P24 million for information, education and communication campaign, and P17 million for program management. The remainder of the budget would be used for other measures to mitigate the ill-effects of the dry spell.

De Luna said the additional support program would be given only to farmers and cooperatives who have expressed interest to continue planting despite the prevailing drought.

Palay production volume this year is expected to fall by 0.6 percent year-on-year due to contraction of harvest area and planting delays as a result of the dry spell, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported early this month.

Palay production for 2015 may reach 18.86 million metric tons (MT), 0.6 percent below the 18.97 million MT output in 2014. This falls short of the production target this year of 20.08 million MT.

The January to June 2015 palay production fell by 0.7 percent to 8.32 million MT from 8.38 million MT last year.  The harvest area fell by 1.7 percent during this period from 2.1 million hectares in the previous year. Yield per hectare, however, fell to 4.04 MT per hectare from four MT per hectare a year ago.

PSA said significant reductions in output were seen in SOCCSKSARGEN, MIMAROPA, Caraga, Western Visayas and Northern Mindanao.

Based on standing crop, palay production from July to September may fall by 14.5 percent to 2.59 million MT this year from 3.03 million MT last year. Harvest area may contract from

773, 830 hectares to 658, 090 hectares. Yield may improve from 3.91 MT per hectare to 3.93 MT because of increased use of hybrid seeds.

With the exemption of Bicol, all regions expect decreases in production and harvest areas attributable to unrealized planting intentions and inadequate irrigation water.

Based on planting intentions for October to December 2015, production and harvest area indicate positive growth by 5.1 percent year-on-year. Yield is expected to remain at 4.05 MT per hectare.