The Department of Agriculture in Western Visayas (DA-6) is expecting higher rice production this year with the increasing output trend amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Given the trend, we expect a positive growth rate, a double-digit growth actually, for rice for the fourth quarter up to January next year,” DA-6 Executive Director Remelyn Recoter said in a report on Monday.

In the first semester of 2020, an increase of about 81,000 metric tons (MT) was noted compared to the output during the same period in 2019. By the third quarter, rice production even went up to about 200,000 MT, just before the harvest season in October.

Recoter urged rice farmers to continue what they have started as she assured them of support from the government.

She said the increase in production is expected after the DA distributed rice seeds with fertilizer component during the wet season and the current cropping.

The region’s palay production performance can also be attributed to the expansion of production areas, Recoter said.

“There’s a need to make sure that the gains of 2020 will be sustained in 2021. We really have to ensure food security,” Recoter said as she underscored the important role of the agriculture sector in the fight against Covid-19.

In the third quarter of this year, palay production in Negros Occidental increased by 25.17 percent as it also registered the highest average yield among the six provinces in Western Visayas, at 4.11 MT per hectare.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority also showed that Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras recorded more than 100 percent growth during the same period.

Aklan yielded 30,312.3 MT in palay production, which is 259.63 percent higher than the previous year’s 8,428.74 MT.

Capiz posted 112.58 percent growth, from 45,914 MT to 97,602 MT, while Guimaras reported the biggest increase of 380.87 percent, from 5,275 MT to 25,366 MT. Iloilo and Antique recorded a production growth of 38.51 percent and 1.40 percent, respectively. (PNA)