DESPITE the "mild" El Niño phenomenon affecting the province, the Bago City Agriculture Office has noted a higher average rice yield of 4.66 metric tons (MT) per hectare as of April this year.
This was an increase from the 4.43 MT per hectare rice yield in 2018 and 4.2 MT per hectare in 2017.
City Agriculturist Carlito Indencia said the higher initial yield is attributed to the city's sustained programs like hybridization, continuous education through farmer field schools, provision of post-harvest facilities, and farm mechanization, among others.
Indencia said since most of the farms are irrigated, the long dry weather has minimal effect on production.
"We are just a little apprehensive of the possible drop in production in July to August due to calamities particularly typhoons and heavy rains," he said.
Production is expected to recover starting September onwards.
City Agriculture Office records showed that Bago had a total palay production of 119,528.36 MT from harvested area of 11,879.29 hectares in 2018.
The city is the top producer of rice in Western Visayas, contributing about a quarter or 25 percent of the total production of Negros Occidental province.
For 2019, the city targets to achieve an average yield of 4.6 MT per hectare.
Indencia said such target is feasible. He said they are banking on programs and projects geared toward strengthening the local rice sector.
The city hosts the 200-hectare model rice farm for the provincial government's pilot farm mechanization program.
The model farm is tilled by 160 farmers, who are members of Newton-Camingawan-Para (Necapa) Farmers Association in Barangay Taloc.
Indencia said the farm has already produced an average yield of five to eight MT during the December 2018 to February 2019 harvests.
"We are now expanding the project to another 100 hectares of rice farms in different barangays of the city," he said.
The same practices and technologies will be applied on the expansion area.
The City Agriculture Office will also conduct regular monitoring and provide feedback weekly to the farmers of the additional 100-hectare farms that are now operational.
The first production of these farms is expected in August or September. It is also expected to positively contribute to the city's production in 2019.
Meanwhile, the city has started distributing certified rice seeds to recipient-farmers.
Each farmer is given about three bags of certified rice seeds, which will cover at least 1,000 hectares.
Of the covered areas, Indencia said they are identifying 100 hectares as pilot area for its fertilizer subsidy.
Indencia said recipient-farmers will only pay 50 percent of the fertilizer cost. The package will also include enrolment in various crop insurance programs.
"As long as we will not be hit hard by calamities during the remaining months, we are optimistic to reach our target rice production output this year," he added.
The local government has allocated about P16 million for its rice development program this year.
Of the amount, P10 million is for the purchase of farm machinery and P4.7 million for seeds.
The remaining P1.5 million is allotted for fertilizers.
Indencia said as the city government assures its support to the farmers, the latter are urged to cooperate.
"They should always attend meetings as updating is very important because there are new technologies coming out every now and then," he added.