JORDAN, Guimaras – Three of the country’s major rice producing regions, Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, and Ilocos, have reported huge increases in their projected rice yields for 2019 dry season, in spite of the adverse effects of El Niño, according to Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.
Pinol, in his latest Facebook post, said the dramatic increase in the rice yields of the three regions has strengthened the projection of the Department of Agriculture of a historic-high harvest of 20-million metric tons for 2019.
During the 2nd Quarter Management Committee Meeting held here, Central Luzon regional director Crispulo Bautista reported that the rice production for 2019 dry season is placed at 2.2-million metric tons.
The 2019 Dry Season Harvest of Central Luzon is 22 percent higher than the 2018 harvest of 1.8-million metric tons.
“With this harvest, we are projecting an annual harvest of over four million metric tons which be the highest for the region since 2014,” Bautista reported.
Ilocos regional director Lucrecio Alviar Jr. also reported a 14.4 percent increase in the 2019 dry season planting with 560,896 metric tons as against 490,108 last year.
Cagayan Valley regional director Narciso Edillo reported a 2019 dry season planting harvest of 1.511-million metric tons as against 1.479-million metric tons during the same period last year or an increase of 2.16 percent.
The three regional directors reported that rice production in their areas was not affected by El Niño because the planted areas for the season are all irrigated.
“We were not affected by El Niño because there is enough water in Pantabangan Dam,” Bautista said.
