Palay production up in 2013 despite typhoons

Cherrie Regalado

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Rice production in areas barely affected by Typhoon Yolanda pulls up the country's overall output

HIGHER OUTPUT. Palay output grew in 2013 despite typhoons.Photo by  AFP.

MANILA, Philippines – Palay production increased by 2.3% in 2013 despite the havoc caused by the typhoons that struck the country in the second half of last year.

Data released by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) on Thursday, January 16, showed that unmilled rice production for last year amounted to 18.44 million metric tons (MT), higher than the 18.03 million MT of 2012.

The country was visited by typhoons Santi, Vinta, and Yolanda in the second half of 2013, causing high production losses in palay-producing areas. 

Damage to agriculture due to Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) alone was more than P18 billion. The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will need more than P9 billion to rehabilitate the agriculture and fisheries sector in the affected areas.

The government also noted that the country will not be self-sufficient in rice due to the havoc brought by Yolanda.

The BAS said the total production output last year was pulled up by the increased rice production in other regions barely affected by Yolanda.

The bureau said higher rice production output were recorded in Central Luzon, Caraga, Soccsksargen, Bicol, and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) regions. This is due to the expansion of harvest areas.

The follow-through on the quick turn-around program of the DA – which involves 5 croppings in 2 years – also helped.

On a national level, total harvest area expanded to 4.75 million hectares in 2013, an increase of 1.2% from the 4.69 million hectares in 2012.

Harvest area during the 4th quarter of the year expanded to 1.83 million hectares, up by 7.4% from 1.71 million hectares in the same period in 2012.

Palay production

Palay yield per hectare also increased to 3.89 MT, up by 1% from 3.84 MT. 

Palay production for the last quarter of 2013 increased by 8.62% to 7.08 million, from 6.54 million recorded in the same period in 2012.

Palay production output is expected to increase by 5.4%, reaching 8.43 million MT in the 1st half of 2014.

Harvest area, on the other hand, is likely to expand by 3.7% to 2.12 million also in the 1st semester of 2014.

Yield per hectare is likely to improve from 3.91 MT to 3.98 MT in the 1st half of 2014. 

Palay production in the first quarter of 2014 may increase by 8.5%, reaching 4.53 million MT, while harvest area may expand to1.18 million hectares from 1.11 million hectares also in the 1st quarter of 2014.

Yield per hectare is also expected to reach 3.83 MT in the first 3 months of 2014 from the 3.75 MT recorded in the same period in 2013. 

Majority of the harvest for the 1st quarter of 2014 will likely come from Western Visayas, Central Luzon, ARMM, Northern Mindanao, and the Zamboanga Peninsula. 

“Harvest area may expand in these regions due to the immediate replanting of damaged areas affected by typhoons Santi and Yolanda, early plantings due to sufficiency of irrigation water and rainfall, utilization of in-fallow areas and availability of quality seeds from the seed banking program,” BAS noted. 

Corn production

Corn production in 2013 fell by 0.4% to 7.38 million MT, from 7.1 million MT in 2012. This is due to insufficient soil moisture in the 1st half of the year and damage caused by strong typhoons in the 2nd half of the year. 

Corn harvest areas also fell to 2.56 million hectares from 2.59 million hectares in 2012. 

Production reached 1.45 million MT, 3.5% for the last quarter of 2013. This is lower than the 1.51 million MT produced in 2012.

Harvest area contracted to 554,000 hectares from 576,000 hecares in 2012.

“Expansion in harvest area maybe attributed to the utilization of in-fallow areas, early plantings, seed assistance from local government units, and financial support from traders, shifting from sugarcane and banana, and additional green corn areas,” BAS said.  Rappler.com

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