The Department of Agriculture (DA) continues its partnership with the Local Government Units (LGU) to achieve its goal for a rice-secure Philippines.
This year, Butuan City is among the outstanding city recognized by the DA. The support and efforts of the unit in addressing the plight of smallholder rice farmers are commendable.
“The success of the City is attributed to the shared efforts of the national and local government in implementing program and projects for agriculture particularly in the rice sector. The City recorded an average yield of 4.02 metric tons per hectare in 2017 and 4.17 metric tons per hectare in 2018 resulting to yield increase of 3.73%,” said OIC-City Agriculturist Pierre Anthony D. Joven
The production performance of the city was made possible through the implementation of various interventions such as the distribution of 4,721 bags of High-Quality Seeds wherein 3,806 rice farmers benefitted, the establishment of hybrid and inbred model farms, irrigation support, pre and post-harvest facilities. This also includes the rice extension and research support through Rice Crop Manager (RCM), Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM) and Preferential Variety Selection of Next-Generation Rice Varieties.
For the last two years, DA – Caraga poured a total of ₱67.7 Million worth of agriculture-related projects to support the rice farmers in the city. The agriculture assistance and the on-going efforts of the LGU made them a strong partner of the department.
Last year, LGU-Butuan allocated the 45% of its internal revenue allotment in support to agriculture or an equivalent to ₱20 Million. This is for the operation of the Butuan Rice Research Center – a 19-hectare area intended to showcase the updated rice technologies and production area for rice seed production. The budget allocated reveals the dedication of the LGU to develop the rice sector in the city.
With the exemplary efforts of LGU-Butuan City, Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan and Senator Cynthia Villar personally handed their award as National Rice Achievers Awardee – City Category last May 30, 2019, at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila. They received ₱1 million worth of agri-related projects.
Further, CACEA-Guihao-an Irrigators Association Inc. from Buenavista, Agusan del Norte was also hailed as Outstanding Irrigators Association for Mindanao Cluster. The group received ₱1Million worth of project while Pinamangculan-Tagpulangi-
The invaluable contribution of agriculture’s prime movers is annually recognized through DA’s Rice Achievers Awards. The selection of awardees is based on the following: production data in 2017 versus 2018; yield increment and production; training conducted and attended; internal revenue allotment allotted to the agriculture program; allocation of personnel to the rice program; use of quality seeds; road map; the number of farmers and clusters assisted and submission of reports. (Rhea C. Abao/DA-Caraga)
