More than PHP100 million worth of support and interventions for agricultural productivity will be released to rice farmers in Caraga Region this year, the Department of Agriculture in the area (DA-13) said.

DA-13 Executive Director Abel James Monteagudo told the participants to the Technical Briefing of Calendar Year 2020 Rice Program Interventions on Thursday (March 12) here that the support aims to improve the quality of yield of rice farmers in the region.

“Agriculture should produce income and should be profitable,” Monteagudo said, adding that the interventions will focus on the provision of seeds, fertilizers, machinery, and in the field of research.

Marisa Garces, the Rice Program Focal Person of DA-13, said the increase in support is aimed to increase the yield of rice farmers in the region by 1 to 1.2 metric tons (MT) per hectare this year.

“This can be attained with the proper propagation and good agricultural practices through the use of hybrid seeds and mechanization support,” Garces said.

This year, rice farmers in the region’s five provinces will receive 6,648 bags of hybrid seeds worth PHP33 million and 18,000 bags of fertilizers worth PHP22 million.

DA-13 will also release a total amount of PHP22.6 million for rice mechanization and PHP21 million for the construction of three units of solar-powered irrigation systems in the region.

Garces said research studies in rice production, in collaboration with the state universities in the region, will also be funded this year with a total amount of PHP12 million.

With the interventions, Garces expressed optimism the target productivity increase this year will be achieved. She added that the interventions for rice farmers will be coordinated with the provincial, municipal and city offices in the region.

Meanwhile, increased palay production during the first two quarters in 2019 was recorded in Caraga Region, data from DA-13 said.

During the first three months last year, palay production was recorded at 25,776 MT compared to 21,659 MT production in the same period in 2018.

Area planted with palay also increased during the first quarter in 2019, from 7,229 hectares in 2018 to 7,813 hectares in 2019.

The average yield also posted an increase during the period, from three metric tons per hectare in the first quarter in 2018 to 3.3 MT/hectare this year.

Palay production increased from 277,219 MT in the second quarter of 2018 to 2,080,573 MT in the same period in 2019. (PNA)