Western Visayas posts good harvest despite 'Frank'
Despite the onslaught of "typhoon Frank" in June, Western Visayas posted a good rice harvest in its first harvest season from January to June 2008.
Director Larry Nacionales of the Department of Agriculture, Region 6, disclosed during the PIA-Cable TV program that about 728,000 metric tons were harvested during the first semester.
Nacionales said that per record of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) the production performance is 18% higher than their targeted 680,000 MT January-June 2008 target.
He said that "Frank's" outrage affected some 14,000 hectares,but during that period our "planted rice were on its vegetative stage," and with measures extended by the government, our farmers have recovered.
"Only 2 percent reduction was estimated from the affected farmlands," said Director Nacionales as he emphasized that based on the data monitored through BAS and the local government units, there is an upscale in the planting of rice this season because of the favorable climate as compared to last year's weather condition.
The DA 6 Regional Director said that the overall production target of Western Visayas for 2009 is 2.09 million metric tons higher by 10% to last year's 1.9 million metric tons target output.
He expressed optimism that the 2.09 million MT target output will be attained considering that there is still an ongoing harvest and "expectedly there will be a 3.8 percent increase in production performance.
"We will be able to achieve it,and our rice sufficiency level will also be in an upscale level," Director Nacionales concluded. (PIA/T.Villavert)