Record year! PH palay harvest up by 203,000 MT in Q1

The country's rice production increased by 203,000 metric tons in the First Quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year and the projection is that the total output for this year will be higher than the 2017 production of 19.267-million metric tons which was the highest in the country's history.The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), using data provided by the EAS Sentinel 1A satellite to the Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM), reported that the rice production for the First Quarter of 2018 was at 4,622,979 tons compared to 2017 First Quarter production of 4,419,267 or a 4.61% increase.The increased rice production for this year is mainly because of the absence destructive typhoons and record high buying price for their produce which the PSA said was at average of P21.50 per kilo for clean and dry paddy rice.The area harvested in the First Quarter of 2018 was 1,194,860 hectares compared to First Quarter of 2017 which 1,148,348 hectares or an increase in the planted area of 4.05%.The 2017 harvest of 19.276-million metric tons was higher by 1.6-million metric tons over the 2016 harvest. It was the highest paddy rice harvest in the history of the country and it brought the country's production for 93% of the total national annual requirements.The Department of Agriculture (DA) is targeting a production of 95% to 96% of the total national requirements for the country to achieve rice sufficiency with the remaining 5% to 4% of the supply sourced from imported rice to comply with the Philippine commitments to the World Trade Organization.The DA's Rice Road Map expects to hit the 95% to 96% production level by 2020 to achieve rice sufficiency.The country's corn production, aided by ideal climatic conditions, have also been steadily increasing with the country achieving corn sufficiency last year.For the First Semester of 2018, the country's corn farmers produced 3.756-million metric tons compared to the 2017 First Semester production of 3.695-million metric tons, or an increase of 60,000 metric tons.With the introduction of the Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS), among other alternative water generation projects being implemented by the DA, rice and corn production is expected to increase even higher in the coming years.