Drought seen to reduce rice production

ILOILO CITY—Agriculture officials are expecting a drop by more than a third in rice production in Western Visayas as the mild El Niño weather phenomenon ruins palay farms in six provinces in the region, as well as in Bohol province.

Western Visayas is the country’s third top rice producer, next only to Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley regions.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas predicts the decline in rice production in Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental.

In Bohol, two of the four dams that supply water to rice farms have already reached critical level.

Data from the DA regional office showed the projected rice production for the semester to reach 97,432 metric tons, lower than the 149,212 MT under normal conditions or a decrease of 51,780 MT or 34.7 percent, according to official data provided by local governments.

Manuel Olanday, DA regional technical director for operations and extension, however, said the projections could still change, depending on the behavior of the dry spell.

El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean surface with significant reduction in rainfall volume.

It was also expected to reduce corn production in Western Visayas with crop losses estimated to reach 14,074 MT out of an estimated production of 38,044 MT.

The dry spell from January to April affected 39,921 hectares of rice lands in Western Visayas, and could result in delayed planting for the second semester in 147,036 ha.

Olanday said the projected losses were also due to delays in planting last year with mature crops affected by the dry spell.

The decrease in production can affect this year’s regional rice production target of 2.23 million MT.

In Bohol, the dry season affected the water level of the Malinao Dam in Pilar town and the Capayas Dam in Ubay town, according to Elvira Alvarado, head of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Central Visayas-Institutional Development Section.

The Malinao Dam supplies water to at least 4,740 ha of rice fields in Pilar, Ubay, San Miguel, Dagohoy and Alicia. On the other hand, the Capayas Dam supplies water to 1,160 ha of rice fields in Ubay.

Only a few farmers, however, are affected because most followed the cropping calendar by the NIA and the DA, and had already harvested the palay before the start of El Niño, Alvarado said.

Two other dams—the Bayongan in San Miguel town and the Talibon in Talibon town—were slightly affected.

Bayongan irrigates 4,140 ha of rice field in portions of Ubay, San Miguel, Trinidad and Dagohoy. Talibon dam supplies water to 600 ha of rice fields in Talibon.

If the dry spell continues, only 75 percent will be irrigated by the cropping season next month.

The first cropping season starts in May with land preparation and ends in September with the harvesting of palay. The second season starts in November and harvest time is in March.

Only those farmers who did not follow the cropping season were affected by the dry season, Alvarado said but did not give an exact figure.

The farmers, however, cannot start the next cropping period in May if the dry spell continues.