Jap-donated fertilizers to boost rice production
The Department of Agriculture (DA) here expects higher rice yield with the fertilizer grant from the Japanese government to underprivileged farmers here.
DA 6 director Larry Nacionales said they are looking forward for an increase in the farmers’ yield. The deficiency in the use of fertilizers is one of the factors they have identified that contributes in the low yield.
In the 31st Japanese Grant Assistance for the Food Security Project for Underprivileged Farmers (2KR), farmer-beneficiaries in Iloilo and Negros received 6,000 metric tons of ammonium sulphate fertilizers out of the 26,135 tons of fertilizers. The fertilizer grant amounted to 480 million Yen.
Nacionales said the farmers will have better chance to comply the fertilizer requirement of their rice land in order to have a better yield comes the harvest season. The cost of fertilizer is reduced with the introduction of the grant to farmer-beneficiaries.
He also urged farmers to prove their worth on the assistance provided by the Japanese government for the Filipino farmers to alleviate poverty and self-food sufficiency.
With the fertilizer grant, Nacionales said they are anticipating a better production performance in 2009. It will be much higher than the 2008 rice production.
In 2008, the region posted rice production of 2.08 million metric tons. They are aiming to reach the 2.2 million metric tons this year. The increase is project even with the tungro and rat infestation that hits several municipalities in the different provinces in Western Visayas.
