Monsoon rains may halve projected fall in PH rice output

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said he expects the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) initial projection of a 700,000-metric ton (MT) reduction in rice production to be mitigated by the additional rainfall brought about by the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat). Speaking on the sidelines of the DA’s budget hearing at the House of Representatives last week, Mr. Laurel told reporters that the projected decline in rice output could be halved. Mr. Laurel estimated a possible reduction of only 300,000 to 400,000 MT in the worst case. “We were assuming that the dams would reach lower levels starting the next planting season, but now, because of the habagat, there is hope. We’re hopeful for a reduction to about half the projection,” Mr. Laurel told reporters. Mr. Laurel said rainfall brought by the monsoon has helped rice production because they increased water levels in dams while causing little damage to the standing crop. According to the DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center, agricultural damage caused by the monsoon, as well as Tropical Cyclones Luis, Maymay, Neneng, and Pilandok, was valued at P4.13 billion as of Sept. 5, with damage to rice amounting to P2.04 billion, affecting 73,307 hectares of land planted to rice. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza