CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –Central Luzon regained foothold as the country’s “rice granary” as it proved to be 138 percent self-sufficient in the staple cereal despite the severe floods the region experienced last year.
“For the two cropping seasons, Central Luzon was able to produce 3,220,607 metric tons of rice out of the 675,781 hectares area harvested, for an average yield of 4.77 metric tons per hectare,” Department of Agriculture (DA) regional executive director Andrew Villacorta said.
The Aquino administration is expecting the entire country to be self-sufficient in rice by this year.
Villacorta said “production in 2012 was 23 percent higher than 2011’s 2,616,083 metric tons contributing 18 percent to the national production in support to the Food Staple Self-Sufficiency Program.”
He attributed high production to ”immediate recovery from natural disasters and growth in production through the convergence of climate change adaptation measures of national government agencies and local government units.”
Villarcorta also noted that yellow and white corn production increased at 210,469 metric tons with an average yield of 5.20 metric tons per hectare in 2012. This, he said, was 11.66 percent higher than the 188,494 metric tons in the previous year.
This, as cassava production reached 45,875 metric tons with an average yield of 16.25 metric tons per hectare.
This was 268 percent higher than the 12,454 metric tons produced in 2011, he also said.
“This high corn production was achieved through the provision of farm machineries and postharvest facilities and support to irrigation, education, trainings and research” Villacorta disclosed.
