MANILA (Eagle News) — The United States has recognized the Philippines for registering the greatest increase in palay production for the last five years.
This was according to Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala, although he admitted that the country would still have to continue importing rice.
He said the national rice sufficiency level was still at 96 to 97 percent, and that the country had still not achieved the 100 percent rice self-sufficiency level targeted way back 2013.
In a recent press conference in Bacolod City, Alcala said the US Department of Agriculture recognized the Philippines for registering the greatest increase in palay in the whole world for the last five years.
This proves the government is doing something right regarding palay production, he told the local media.
Alcala noted that in 2010, the country’s sufficiency level was only 82 percent, steadily rising to its present level.
One of the factors he mentioned for failing to reach the sufficiency target was the disaster the country suffered.
A big factor was in the failure to have additional irrigated areas for planting palay.
Because of this, he said, there is a need to import rice. He said that the harvest right after the dry season reached only a maximum harvest of 42 percent.
Although, the Aquino administration is still importing rice, he pointed out the combined figure of rice importation of the present government from 2011 through 2014 is only equivalent to one year importation of the previous administration. (Based on a report of the Philippine Information Agency)
