Thursday, July 03, 2008 'Frank' no effect on CL rice supply: DA
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the rice supply in Central Luzon is in stable condition, especially for the coming lean months despite the previous onslaught of Typhoon Frank (international codename: Fengshen) in the region.
This was assured by Agriculture Regional Director Redentor Gatus Wednesday as he said that damages in agriculture in Bulacan Province are not enough to disrupt the supply of the staple in the regional and provincial markets.
"Our stocks are fine and our coming harvest would carry us through the lean months of August and September," Gatus said.
He added that the DA’s Ginintuang Ani Program has further boosted the rice preparedness of the region. Fertilizer distribution in the said program was recorded highest in the provinces of Bulacan (106,556 coupons) and Nueva Ecija (185,000 coupons).
Seed distribution in Tarlac reached an all time high record of 21,504 (coupons) distributed over 91,396 hectares. This was followed by Bulacan (7,035 coupons) and Nueva Ecija (4,968 coupons).
Gatus said the prices of the staple would also be augmented by the National Food Authority through its rice program.
He added that "turnaround" areas would also support Bulacan Province and the region in case of lack of available supply.
These areas, according to Gatus, are rice planting areas that produce rice even out of the season. These are also areas that were not devastated by typhoons and have an expected ample rice harvest.
The DA usually source out the staple's supply among provinces not devastated by disasters or areas which have enough surplus supply to route to other areas. (IOF)
