Despite being hailed as “2nd highest in rice yield performance for 2016” with an average production of 4.6 metric tons per hectare, the Department of Agriculture Region XI will not settle for less.
During the Habi at Kape media forum at Abreeza Mall Davao on Wednesday, DA-XI OIC Regional Director Ricardo M. Oñarte said that since the area for rice crop growing could not be expanded, the next move of their office is to increase rice production in the region.
Oñarte explained that if the country’s average annual yield is 3.9 metric tons nationwide, Davao del Sur province alone has already surpassed that level.
“Yung gusto ni Secretary Piñol (Secretary Manny Piñol) is to increase yung ating average yield to 6 tons,” said Oñarte.
The regional director pointed out that the level of production could be increased by also increasing the level of mechanization.
In a previous report by Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMec), an attached agency of DA, they have stated that rice mechanization is now being utilized by farmer organizations free of charge since the beginning of the Duterte administration.
With the mechanization, Oñarte stressed that the postharvest cost of the farmers will be trimmed down as well as the time spent for the process.
On the matter of inducing the technology to the farmers who still practice traditional farming, the regional director said the agency will be conducting a series of trainings starting January 2017.
For 2016, DA-XI reported that the agency has funded P109.7 million for the infrastructure and farm machineries.
In a data given by DA, under the rice mechanization program, Region XI has received a total of 499 rice production equipment within 2013 to 2016 comprised of 16 rice transplanters, 175 hand tractors, 206 floating tillers, 13 farm tractors, and 89 rice drum seeders.
For the rice post-harvest, Davao region received a total of 387 equipment consist of 60 ricehull carbonizers, 63 collapsible dryers, 19 recirculating dryers with biomass furnace, 11 mobile agri-wastes shredders, 190 mobile rice threshers, 6 multi-crop threshers/ huskers/ shellers, 17 combine harvesters, and 21 rice reapers.
In a previous interview with PhilMec executive director Dr. Dionisio G. Alvindia (Scientist III), he said that the total budget for the country’s rice program in 2016 was P150 million where P35 million was allocated for rice mechanization.
Meanwhile, for 2017, he said that due to the President Duterte’s emphasis on agriculture, there will be an increase on the budget which makes it P200 million where P80 million will be allocated for rice mechanization.
