The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is targeting to open at least 300,000 hectares of new rice areas outside of typhoon-vulnerable regions next year to hike output.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told the BusinessMirror that he has already instructed some DA regional directors to look for lands suitable for paddy production.
“I have also directed directors of regions outside of path of typhoon—Mimaropa [Palawan, Mindoro], Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas [Samar, Leyte], Caraga, Davao, Central Mindanao and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to open at least 300,000 hectares of new rice areas by 2019,” he said in an interview.
Piñol said the DA would make the necessary investments to develop new rice farms in regions not usually hit by storms using data submitted by the mayors during the recent Food Security Summit.
He added that the DA will use funds from rice tariffs once Congress enacts a measure that will lift the quantitative restriction on the staple.
“We are actually banking on the proceeds from tariffication to be released in advance,” he said.
Piñol said the government is also keen on making changes in the rice cropping calendar to ensure the continuous increase in local output.
The agriculture chief issued the statement after farm production in the third quarter contracted by 0.83 percent. The government attributed this to typhoons that ravaged major rice-producing areas in the country during the period.
This is the first time that farm output declined after expanding for six consecutive quarters since the first quarter of last year. The last time agriculture production posted a decline was in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The crops subsector, which accounted for 45.58 percent of the total output, posted a 3.64-percent drop in production. From January to September, the subsector’s output went down by 1.38 percent.
“Palay and corn production dropped by 5.70 percent and 14.83 percent, respectively,” the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
Economist Rolando T. Dy told the BusinessMirror that government must “diversify” the supply base of various crops if it wants the farm sector to recover immediately.
“For instance, diversify the supply base of vegetables. Why not Eastern Rizal to supply areas like Quezon City and Marikina?” Dy, the executive director of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Center for Food and Agri-business, said.
As for long-term measures, Dy said there should be stakeholder-driven road maps with details on “value chain corridors” for the country’s commodities. “Coconut fertilization, intercropping and hybrid replanting are prime examples.”
Solar facility
MRC Allied Inc. will develop at least 550-kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) rooftop system for two rice-milling plants in Northern Luzon.
A memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the development, design, construction, installation, of at least 550-kWp solar PV rooftop system was already executed for the two unidentified rice-milling plants.
Under the MOA, MRC will be the project developer and owner of the solar facility, while a private entity, owning and operating two milling plants, will be the power off-taker.
Augusto Cosio Jr., MRC Allied Inc. president and chief executive officer, said project construction of the P34-million, 550-kWp project is expected to begin this December. Project completion is eyed in May 2019.
MRC Allied, which aims to gain a foothold in the growing Philippine solar PV rooftop market, wants to develop 4 megawatts (MW) of solar PV rooftop projects in Northern Luzon in the next two years.
“The signing of the MOA is a significant milestone for the company, and will kick off the pilot project of the company in its current solar PV project pipeline. The company aims to develop at least 4 MW of solar PV projects within the pilot project area,” Cosio said.
Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas and Lenie Lectura