Palawan to attain rice self-sufficiency

THE province of Palawan is expected to attain rice sufficiency in the next 11 months despite the threat of El Niño, the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA).

Provincial agriculturist Romeo Cabungcal said that the combined inventory from traders’ stock and farmers’ production of 160,880 metric tons (MT) of rice will be enough to meet Palawan’s monthly consumption of 13,739 MT.

“This is based on the record submitted by our municipal agriculturists and inventory; it can reach about 11.71 months. Based on the record, we will not have a shortage,” he said partly in the vernacular.

As of January, Palawan has a standing crop of 30,182 hectares (ha) which could produce 126,764 MT of unmilled rice, or palay. The harvest on Sept. 15, 2023 covered 48,181 ha with a production of 190,546.10 MT.

In the farming calendar, March 16 to September 15 is the wet season, while September 16 to March 15 is the dry season.

OPA’s inventory to local traders in the first week of January showed 54,500 bags of palay, equivalent to 2,725 MT. With 60 percent milling recovery, it will produce 635 MT of rice. The inventory has not yet included the volume of imported bags of rice by traders.

“When I visited traders, they had a lot of palay there. To think also, because there are traders importing — because of the trade liberalization in the Rice Tariffication Law, he said.

Even though supplies can be sufficient, OPA still needs to assess the drought-affected areas in Palawan and implement mitigating measures through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

OPA is collaborating with its municipal counterparts to have an intensive information campaign on the impacts of climate change and ways to conserve water in agriculture.