PALAY and corn production in Negros Occidental has increased during the first quarter of 2017 compared to the same period last year, reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
For rice, the PSA-Negros Occidental reported that the province’s production from January to March this year reached 80,069 metric tons.
The figure is almost 36 percent higher than the 59,020 metric tons produced during the first quarter of 2016.
Of the total rice production, almost 65,000 metric tons are produced by farms in irrigated areas while 15,652 metric tons are in rain-fed farms.
For corn, a total of 26,457 metric tons were produced during the first quarter this year. It is 9.37 percent higher than the 24,190 metric tons yield on the same period in 2016.
The PSA-Negros Occidental reported that the province produced 15,130 metric tons of white corn and 11,327 metric tons of yellow corn.
In 2016, it has produced only 13,454 metric tons and 10,736 metric tons of white and yellow corn, respectively, it added.
PSA-Negros Occidental officer-in-charge Joely Cabarles said the current increase in production is mainly attributed to the absence of adverse El Niño effects this year.
Cabarles pointed out that prolonged dry weather, which started in 2015, has negatively impacted production during the first quarter towards May of 2016.
“We are projecting the same percentage increase in palay and corn production from the second quarter onwards. With sufficient water as indicator, the production towards the end of the year is expected to be even higher,” he said, adding that palay production in Negros Occidental has grown almost 100,000 metric tons in the last 10 years.
In terms of harvested area, Negros Occidental has a total of 22,610 hectares for palay as of March 2017, comprised of 17,410 hectares irrigated and 5,200 rain-fed farms.
The total area harvested is 30 percent higher than only 17,376 hectares on the same period last year, the PSA-Negros Occidental reported.
For corn, harvested area reached 16,370 hectares. This is 6.31 percent higher than combined harvested areas for white and yellow varieties during the first quarter last year, at 15,399 hectares.
With higher production and area harvested, the PSA also reported an increase in yield.
Negros Occidental has an average first quarter yield of 3.54 metric tons per hectare for palay and 1.62 metric tons per hectare for corn.
The figures are both higher than the 3.40 and 1.57 metric tons per hectare for palay and corn, respectively, in the first quarter of 2016.
Cabarles said since there are still many areas devoted to other crops, including sugarcane, the province is still rice insufficient.
“If irrigated, the almost 23, 000 hectares rain-fed areas could actually result to an additional of 70,000 metric tons for the three cropping seasons,” Cabarles said, adding that irrigating all areas will enhance the yield and eventually make the province self-sufficient.
For her part, Joyce Wendam, regional director of Department of Agriculture-Negros Island Region (DA-NIR), said they have been implementing interventions to provide irrigation systems appropriate to rain-fed areas.
DA-NIR records showed there are almost 22,378-hectare rain-fed areas in the province, lower than the 40,114-hectare irrigated areas.
“Small scale irrigation systems provided to rain-fed areas include shallow tube wells, open surface source, and small farm reservoir, among others,” Wendam said.”