Palay output seen to go up despite El Niño, typhoons

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is pinning its hopes on higher palay production in the second semester to douse speculations that projected full-year growth targets for the agriculture sector will not be met because of low output in the first six months this year.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said palay production is expected to reach 13.46 million metric tons (MT) this year, up by almost 190,000 MT or 1.4 percent from its 2002 level of 13.27 million MT.

The total expected output for 2003 however, is 740,000 MT shy of the original full-year palay production target of 14.2 million MT.

"Despite the devastating typhoons in the third quarter which exacted heavy toll on our rice growing areas, we will end up with 2003 on a positive note, with our palay output much higher than last year’s," he said, adding, "the second semester production is seen to soar 6.3 percent to 8.08 million MT, thus compensating for the loss incurred in the first half," said Lorenzo.

Production of palay, the country’s major staple was down by 5.13 percent to 5.381 million metric tons (MT) compared to 5.6 million MT in the first half of 2002. This was due to the drought that reduced harvest areas in the major rice-growing regions of Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Bicol and Region 12 composed of North Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City.

The performance of the agriculture sector is closely being watched by the country’s ecomists since it makes up about a fifth of the country’s total economic output.

The El Niño weather disturbance limited the country’s farm sector growth to just 2.79 percent in the first quarter this year compared to the 5.24-percent expansion posted during the same period in 2002. The second quarter growth was only 1.52 percent, way off the 3.43-percent growth during the same period last year.

For the first semester, the country’s farm sector growth slowed down to just 2.4 percent in the first semester compared to the 3.22-percent growth during the same period in 2002.

As a result, Lorenzo said the DA may have to revise its full-year target of four percent.

However, Lorenzo said the government’s intensive seed distribution program combined with adequate irrigation and an expected favorable weather condition until the end of this year will all contribute to a good rice production performance this year.

Lorenzo said the third quarter production significantly boosted palay output by 20.4 perent to 2.43 million MT because the onset of the rainy season improved irrigation and brought water to rainfed farms, allowing farmers to expand their harvest area by 13.8 percent to 741,000 hectares.

To further boost output, the DA rice program under Frisco Malabanan embarked on a quick-turn-around planting mode beginning September, convincing farmers all over the country to immediately replant their field after harvest by offering subsidized fertilizers and making hybrid and certified seeds available, he said.

With many farmers responding positively, output for the fourth quarter is seen to grow 1.2 percent to 5.6 million MT from its year-ago level.