El Niño lowers rice harvest in WV, other rice bowls
The country’s major palay producing regions, including Western Visayas, have posted low area harvested and yield due to the dry spell caused by El Niño phenomenon, according to the first-quarter official report of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).
However, the livestock and poultry sectors managed to post modest gains in the first quarter of the year despite the onslaught of El Niño, the report said.
Initial data showed that Negros Occidental incurred damage to crops and livestock reaching P173,184,683.50 million.
The Office of Provincial Agriculture (OPA) pegged crop damage at P122,224,132 while the Office of Provincial Veterinarian (OPV) estimated livestock losses to around P50,960,551.50.
In general, production losses in palay and corn for the first quarter were estimated at 300,000 metric tons (MT) and 175,000 MT, respectively.
The BAS report showed that crops like coconut, mango, tobacco, cabbage, cassava and onion registered positive growth rates but their gains were not enough to offset the significant production losses from palay and corn.
Meanwhile, BAS said the livestock subsector grew by a modest 0.51% in the first three months of 2010, as production increases were recorded for hog, goat and cattle, while dairy posted a hefty 17.22% output gain.
The poultry subsector expanded 2.02% on the back of increases in chicken and chicken egg production of 1.81% and 4.43%, respectively.
These two subsectors accounted for close to 30% of the total agricultural output for the first quarter, BAS said.
It said the growth of the crops subsector, which shared 47.75% of the total agricultural production, dropped by 6.15% as palay posted production losses of 11.41% with 3.49 million metric tons and corn output at 1.6 million MT declined by 16.76% as compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, “yellow corn production was adversely affected by hot weather as area harvested in Cagayan Valley , SOCCSKSARGEN, Western Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Cordillera Administrative Region contracted in the first quarter of the year,” BAS likewise noted.
The biggest gainer in the crops subsector was onion with an output increase of 11.22%. Coconut grew by 1.75%; banana by 1.26%; mango, 3.10%; tobacco, 9.66%; cassava, 6.99%; tomato, 7,05%; eggplant, 1.21%; and cabbage, 3.55%.
However, sugarcane, mongo and rubber posted big production cuts.
Total fisheries production, which accounted for 24.84% of the total agricultural output, dipped by 0.63% in the first three months of the year. Commercial and municipal fisheries posted production declines of 3.5% and 0.15%, respectively, but aquaculture managed to grow by 0.36%.
It was learned that Department of Agriculture Western Visayas implemented cloud-seeding to cushion the impact of the drought to agriculture.
DA has also encouraged farmers to go into organic production, which it says requires less irrigation. (Report from DA Press Office)
