Saturday, November 18, 2006 C. Visayas rice yield rises, corn drops - DA
RICE production in Central Visayas grew by 18 percent in the first 10 months of the year, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 reported.
According to BAS, the region produced 245,780 metric tons of rice from January to October this year compared to 208,838 metric tons in the same period in 2005.
The same data revealed that Bohol topped the region in rice production in the same period this year with 162,697 metric tons, followed by Oriental Negros with 66,662 metric tons, Cebu with 13,862 metric tons, and Siquijor with 2,559 metric tons.
Decline
However, the region’s total corn production this year is 2.59 percent less than that of 2005.
From January to October this year, the region’s farmers produced a total of 183,643 tons of corn compared to 188,525 metric tons in the same period in 2005.
Cebu had the highest corn yield this year with 104,062 metric tons, followed by Oriental Negros with 63,800 metric tons, Bohol with 10,575, and Siquijor with only 5,206 metric tons.
“The growth in our palay production this year is due to the increase of hybrid seeds and location specific intervention,” Jorge Paculba, DA 7 crops division chief said in an interview yesterday.
Since October and November are considered peak harvest season, production of corn and rice is projected to increase, Paculba said.
DA 7 expects region’s rice yield to reach 74,689 metric tons from a total of 30,212 hectares in the first quarter of next year.
Below demand
However, BAS provincial agricultural statistics officer Melchor Bautista told Sun.Star Cebu that despite an increase in the figures, the supply of corn and rice is still short of market demand.
BAS reported that corn production, in particular, satisfied only 57 percent of the household demand in the region last year.
Bohol’s corn production answered 79 percent of its demand while Oriental Negros met 60 percent and Cebu only 55 percent of their respective demands. Corn production in Siquijor was only 46 percent of demand.
“Naturally, the sufficiency level is not that high because of the growing population. If we have about 3.5 million mouths to feed in Cebu alone, our own corn production is not enough,” Bautista said.
Shipment
He said Cebu Province has relied on corn and rice shipments from Mindanao, Panay Island and Leyte to augment local production and answer increasing demand.
BAS said the region’s per capita consumption of rice for base year 2001 is 251.94 kilos per year per person.
In Bohol it 85.28 kilos; Cebu, 64.74 kilos; Oriental Negros, 54.70 kilos; and Siquijor, 47.22 kilos.
BAS data also revealed that the region’s total per capita consumption of corn for the same base year reached 224.90 kilos per year per person.
“For corn production, household consumption is also competing with the processing industry, that’s why the demand for it continues to increase every year,” Bautista said. (MMM)
