CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- The Provincial Agriculture Office (PAGRO) of Misamis Oriental is set to implement the ‘drip irrigation system’ next year to improve the rice sufficiency level in the province.
The plan for adoption of the system was conceptualized after a courtesy call to Misamis Oriental Governor Peter Unabia by Dr. R Sabarinathan, an Indian Agronomist and Rice Expert from NETAFIM company, on Aug. 31 this year this year.
According to NETAFIM, drip irrigation is the most efficient water and nutrient delivery system for growing crops.
It delivers water and nutrients directly to the plant's root zone in the right amounts, at the right time, so each plant gets exactly what it needs, when it needs it, to grow optimally.
With the said system, farmers could produce higher yields while saving on water as well as fertilizers, energy and even crop protection products.
PAGRO Supervising Agriculturist Rose Susan Laquibla, in a media forum on Wednesday, Sept. 28, said that the province’s rice sufficiency level is only 18.6 percent, with the Misamis Oriental’s total population of 956,900.
“We have a low rice sufficiency level so what happens is we have to import rice from nearby provinces to address the sufficiency level,” said Laquibla.
The province of Misamis Oriental has been importing rice from the provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte, said PAGRO Rice focal person June Ratunil in a phone interview Wednesday, Sept. 28.
One of the factors of the low rice sufficiency level is the decreasing number of areas for rice production due to land conversion.
Ratunil said the province now has a total of over 2,600 hectares for rice production from over 2,700 hectares.
With the current production area, farmers can produce 4.2 metric tons (4,200 kilograms) per hectare and per harvest with the traditional way of rice planting. He said farmers can harvest twice per year.
With the drip irrigation system, Ratunil said that based on the data from NETAFIM, farmers can produce six metric tons (6,000 kilograms) per hectare and per harvest which could probably improve the rice sufficiency level in the province.
“Hopefully, with the cooperation of every Municipal Agriculture Office and the farmers, we could increase the rice production in the province of Misamis Oriental,” Ratunil said.
PAGRO already identified the pilot areas for the said project. These include the towns of Magsaysay, Claveria, Alubijid, Naawan and the city of Gingoog.
PAGRO however is still validating the said pilot areas to determine if their two-hectare rice production needed in the implementation are suitable for the drip irrigation system.
The said project, Ratunil said, could possibly be started around the second to third quarter of 2023.