(Eagle News)–The Department of Agriculture is pushing for the construction of deep piers in a bid to reduce the cost of producing rice in the country.
“Mahal din iyong input sa atin dahil iyong logistics, iyong binabanggit palagi ni Secretary (Francisco) Tiu Laurel iyong fertilizer na dadalhin ng Mindoro manggagaling pa iyon ng Bataan, so bago makarating iyong fertilizer from Bataan to Mindoro na nakailang lipat iyong tracking ang laki ng gastos,” De Mesa said.
He said with a deep pier or “panamax,” as it is also called, “puwedeng doon na dalhin directly iyong barko, magdaong mas malaki iyong matitipid – bababa about P15 to P20 immediately iyong presyo ng inputs.”
De Mesa said that aside from improving logistics, the DA is also focusing on enhancing the country’s distribution system and post-harvest facilities to make the country’s agriculture sector more competitive.
He said the Philippines’ overall goal is to be more competitive than its Southeast Asian neighbors.
So far, he said Vietnam, for instance, is producing P6 per kilo of rice, while the Philippines produces a kilo of rice at P12 to P14.
He said P5 billion pesos, or 50 percent, of the P10 billion annually allocated to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund under the Rice Tariffication Law, as a result, also go to farm mechanization aimed at lowering the labor cost component.
This is also a strategy to help boost rice production in the country, with the national average at 4.1 metric tons per hectare.
While Nueva Ecija, the country’s rice granary, produces six to eight metric tons per hectare, he said there are many areas in the country that are producing three to four metric tons per hectare because of a limited use of high-yielding varieties, irrigation, and fertilizer due to high input cost.
