PNoy declares 2013 as Year of Rice

THE YEAR 2013 was declared by President Benigno Aquino III as the National Year of Rice in anticipation of attaining self-sufficiency in rice by the end of this year.

With the declaration, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) together with the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) launched the National Year of Rice (NYR) with the theme “Sapat na bigas, kaya ng Pinas” at the BPI Compound, Baguio City on January 28, 2013.

The NYR, which is a National Government program, is an advocacy campaign that aims to highlight the need for achieving rice self-sufficiency in alliance with all the concerned agencies.

Pursuant to Proclamation No. 494, part of the strategy to attain rice self-sufficiency is intensified information campaign and social marketing to enjoin producers, consumers and policy makers to help achieve the goal.

DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Marilyn V. Sta. Catalina said that, with the effects of Climate Change in the region, everybody needs to strive and work harder.

DA-CAR Regional Technical Director for Operation Danilo Daguio said that for the country to be rice self-sufficient, the Philippines must attain its the nationwide target of about 20 million metric tons (MT) of rice by the end of this year.

Daguio said, in the Cordillera, they are expected to produce about 520,000 MT of rice to attain the national target. Daguio also explained that although the Cordillera is already self-sufficient in rice, some regions in the country are still not.

Three strategies in achieving the national target are by raising farm productivity and competitiveness, enhance economic incentive and enabling mechanism, and manage food staples consumption, he said.

The proclamation also affirms the month of November as the ‘National Rice Awareness Month,’ pursuant to a previous proclamation issued in 2004. (Eyryl Palcon)