Let’s not wait for rain, climate-resilient strategies sought
As palay production declined by 0.3 percent in the first three months of this year, an economist from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) shared how technological advances can procure a steady and high rice output for the future.
In recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the overall value of the agricultural and fisheries sector had a mere 0.05 percent growth. It was affected by the lower crop production.
Economics Chairperson Carlos Manapat told Manila Bulletin on Saturday, May 11, that climate-resilient and other long-term strategies would improve agricultural yield without heavily worrying about the impact of El Niño.
“If you want a sustainable increase, there should be a long-run solution. We need to have technological inputs, and we cannot rely on water alone," Manapat said.
One of the many noticeable climate effects caused by the dry spell is the ongoing level depletion of the Angat Dam. While water levels during this season have a normal downward trend, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has discussed proper allocation without draining it to its critical level.
As of May 10, Manila Water Co. Inc. noted that the dam had reached 184.03 m, only 4.03 meters shy of its minimum operating level of 180 meters.
Angat Dam provides water sources to the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which is responsible for the irrigation development in the country.
Aside from waiting for the downpour of rain to arrive by the second or third quarter, Manapat emphasized the need to come up with variables related to climate change.
Earlier this week, NIA announced that they are planning to produce 100 million kilos of inbred and hybrid rice varieties and sell them for P29 per kilo through a Contract Farming program.
They explained that this program will begin by harvesting around 40,000 hectares of land, as the affordable rice variants can be bought in Kadiwa stores sometime by August.
The rice variants to be harvested and sold within three months are inbred rice, which can reproduce itself without the farmer’s intervention, and hybrid rice, which is resistant to diseases and insects.
Additionally, the UST economist believed that once this program becomes successful, the P29 rice program can hit other stores beyond Kadiwa.