Leyte expects to produce more rice this year

By Provincial Media Relations Center
June 12, 2010

TACLOBAN CITY  –  The province of Leyte expects to produce more rice this year despite the prolonged dry spell caused by the El Niño phenomenon and the drop in fertilizer supply to local farmers.

Roger Portula, Leyte provincial agriculturist, said the province is still 113 percent rice sufficient even with the decline of about 40,000 metric tons (MT) of palay experienced last year.

“The decrease in rice production last year did not only happen in Leyte but nationwide. Hopefully we can recover this year. That is why we are exerting efforts that farmers use certified seeds to ensure good harvest,” Mr. Portula said.

Leyte, one of the country’s rice producing provinces which ranked sixth in 2007 among the country’s rice producing provinces with a rice produce of 582,840 MT.

The province has more than 55,000 hectares of rice lands with the towns of Alangalang, Abuyog, Carigara, Sta. Fe, Palo, Kananga and the cities of Baybay and Ormoc as among the top rice-producing areas.

“Our farmers could avail of a subsidized certified seeds. They could get 40 kilos of seeds at P600 only while the government would shoulder the remaining P600 as subsidy to rice farmers. The Department of Agriculture (DA) will pay the remaining amount,” Mr. Portula said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Potula disclosed that the ICOT Rice Program of the provincial government will continue this year in Sta. Fe, Leyte.

Under the said program, the province extends loan to rice farmers and the amount could be used to buy palay seeds and fertilizers as well as payment of workers who prepare the land for planting.

“Beneficiaries could avail of a maximum of P15,000 per hectare of land a farmer would plant. The farmers would pay back their loans in terms of good quality palay computed on the prevailing market price but P1 higher,” Mr. Portula said.

The provincial agriculturist added that the loan program is one way of maintaining the province food-secured and improving the farmer’s productivity and increasing their income.