CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, (PNA) –This province has registered a remarkable increase of palay production this year, according to the Provincial Agriculture Office (OPA).
With this development, OPA chief Crispin Guinto assured that there is enough supply of rice in the province to support the staple requirement of the more than two million Kapampangans.
Records show the province has a total of 35, 516 farmers working to some 140,216 hectares of rice fields.
The OPA said that these farmers are producing not less than 47,921 metric tons of palay.
It was learned that each local farmer is getting at least a minimum of 90 sacks of palay to 115 per hectare during harvest season.
“For the past years, we were able to feed the population in the province without resorting to imports, he said.
This came despite the fact that Pampanga ranked second as the most at risk province in the country due to its vulnerability to natural calamities.
Third District Board Member Ferdinand Labung, chair of the committee on agriculture, meanwhile said the provincial government is continuously providing support to the farmers to boost their productivity.
“The provincial capitol gives training on new technology in farming. We have also distributed farm tools and equipment to different farmers’ organizations as well as financial assistance for those identified as marginalized farmers who own less than a hectare of land,” Labung said.