Rice sufficiency seen next year

ALTHOUGH the Philippines was the world’s biggest rice importer in 2010, the country may no longer have to import rice next year as government officials are confident that rice sufficiency will be attained by the end of 2013.

According to officials of the Department of Agriculture and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), concerned agencies are taking steps to ensure that the country will be rice sufficient by next year.

According to Agriculture Undersecretary Antonio Fleta, the rice sufficiency program is almost 80 percent complete after the department intensified the construction of additional irrigation canals nationwide to allow farmers to harvest palay at least three times a year.

“We need 20 million metric tons of rice production to achieve self sufficiency and we are already into the 19 million MT this year,” Fleta said, adding that the department has stepped up its distribution of post-harvest equipment like threshers and dryers so that farmers can continue to harvest palay even during the rainy season.

He said that agriculture officials have also met with rural banks and extended debt-guarantee facilities to enable financial institutions to lend to farmers for their rice seedling requirements.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said that the National Economic Development Authority has recently approved three irrigation projects worth P19.7 billion. The projects are the second phase of the Jalaur River Multipurpose Irrigation Project in Iloilo (worth P11.2 billion), the second phase of the Casecnan Multipurpose Irrigation and Power Project in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac (worth P7 billion), and the Umayam River Irrigation Project in Agusan del Sur (worth P1.5 billion).

These three projects will irrigate 102,890 hectares and will directly benefit the families of 72,900 farmers in Iloilo, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Agusan del Sur, whose rice production and income will more than double as they will be able to plant and harvest twice a year.

“Definitely, this is a big push towards our target to provide sufficient and sustainable rice supply for the entire nation,” Alcala said. “The three irrigation projects and several others that will be constructed this year and in 2013 will ensure that the Aquino administration will adequately produce the total rice and other staple requirements of the country’s growing population.”

NIA Administrator Antonio Nangel said that the three irrigation projects will allow farmers to produce an additional total annual harvest of 823,120 metric tons (MT) of palay, worth P14 billion, at P17 per kilo, the government’s support price. The figure is based at a conservative average production of four tons of palay per hectare per harvest.

“Since the start of the Aquino administration, we have been able to build irrigation canals covering 150,000 hectares. The NIA target for 2013 is 290,000 hectares,” Nangel said, adding that they expect to cover at least 300,000 hectares by next year when more irrigation systems come online.

Nangel said that government plans to develop 41,462 hectares of land for 2011, but NIA has already developed more than that, or a total of 64,079 hectares nationwide.

The goal for this year is to develop 99,182 hectares of land including only the newly-irrigated and restored systems, but NIA’s ongoing irrigation projects already involve 135,040 hectares which is again more than the government target.

“We need 216,603 hectares of land to attain rice self-sufficiency by 2013,” Nangel said. “At the rate we are going, we will achieve 364,119 hectares of irrigable land by 2013 which is 147,560 hectares more than the target to achieve rice self sufficiency.” –RAFFY AYENG CORRESPONDENT, Manila Times