The government’s goal to achieve a higher level of rice adequacy remains on track despite recent typhoons and logistical roadblocks brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of Agriculture assured on Thursday.
In a news statement following the 2019 Rice Achievers Award held at the DA-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the country has enough rice until the end of December 2020.
While the pandemic has minimal impact on the country’s rice and total agricultural production, he said, it is the damage wrought by recent typhoons that pushed back the DA’s earlier rice adequacy target of 93 percent.
Due to a series of typhoons, Dar admitted the country lost about 322,041 metric tons (MT) of palay, which is roughly equivalent to an eight-day rice supply.
“Hence, our adequacy level is about 90 to 91 percent. Let us wait for the fourth quarter palay production output. However, rest assured, we have enough rice by the end of December 2020, equivalent to three months supply,” said Dar.
The DA said it previously targeted to produce 20.34 million MT of palay (paddy rice) that is 8 percent more than the total harvest of 18.8 MMT in 2019.
“The rice sector has been doing well amid the pandemic. For the first three quarters, rice production reached 11.9 MMT, exceeding initial expectations. But then, the typhoons hit, affecting our major rice producing provinces,” Dar said.
For the last quarter of 2020, DA national rice program (NRP) lead Assistant Secretary Andrew Villacorta said rice production is expected to reach 7.42 MMT, bringing this year’s total palay output to 19.32 MMT, 2.7 percent more than in 2019.
For first and second quarters of 2021, the DA, meanwhile, targets to produce 9.02 MMT from an aggregate 1.149 million hectares nationwide.
The agency said the volume will come from three major rice initiatives: Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund that provides a total P10 billion annually; regular national rice program, focusing on hybrids; and expanded RCEF program, covering additional areas for inbred rice production.
For the entire 2021, the DA eyed an initial target of 20.48 MMT of palay.
To achieve this, Dar said the DA will optimize the use of both quality inbred and hybrid seeds for rain fed and irrigated areas nationwide, and improve efficiency in the allocation and distribution of the P10-billion RCEF for farm machinery, inbred rice seeds, credit, training and extension.
On top of P10-billion annual RCEF, the DA proposed for 2021 a total budget of P15.5 billion that includes the provision of hybrid seeds with P6.2 billion, inbred seeds with P375 million, fertilizers with P4.4 billion, farm equipment with P1 billion, training with P998.2 million, irrigation with P745.9 million, research and development with P658.7 million, and other interventions with P375 million.
Image credits: Bernard Testa