Palay output expected to grow by 3.1% in H2

The country’s palay output is seen hitting 10.46 million metric tons in the second semester of the year, up by 3.1 percent year-on-year, according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

The estimates were based on the expected 2.3-percent expansion in harvest area to 2.72 million hectares.

The BAS said 2.65 million hectares of rice land produced 10.14 million MT in the second half of 2012.

This year, the agency forecasts that yield will likely increase by 0.8 percent to 3.85 MT per hectare.

For the third quarter alone, which is a lean period for rice production, a possible decline of 8.4 percent to 3.3 million MT was pencilled in.

In the same period, the area that will bring harvest may also shrink by 8 percent to 871,000 hectares. At the same time, yield is seen to ease by 0.4 percent to 3.78 MT per hectare.

“The probable decrease in output could be attributed to the contraction in harvest areas in  Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, Bicol, Ilocandia and the Cordilleras due to insufficient water supply, intense heat and the late onset of rains,” the BAS said.

As for the fourth quarter, the BAS said that based on farmers’ plans, production was expected to jump by 9.4 percent to 7.16 million MT.

At the same time, the harvest area is seen to expand by 8.1 percent to 1.84 million hectares while yield is set for a 1.3-percent rise to 3.88 MT per hectare.

“Except Northern Mindanao, all regions are foreseen to post increases in palay production,” the BAS said. “Farmers are optimistic to plant due to interventions by the Department  of Agriculture and local  government units, through projects such as the Balik Binhi/Seed Banking (program), Sikat Saka, and crop insurance.”

Palay seeds are distributed to farmers through the Balik Binhi, which commits them to return a certain amount of seeds after harvest.

Sikat Saka is a loan facility that is extended through Land Bank of the Philippines, particularly to members of irrigators’ associations.