Crop Yields Decline Due To Climate Change

Global warming was to be blamed at large for losses in the production of most high value vegetable crops in the Visayas region.

This was disclosed by the High Value Vegetable Crops (HVVC) regional coordinator of the Department of Agriculture Dr. Veronica Beringuer.

Beringuer stressed that changes in the weather patterns due to climate change have affected the production rate of priority crops in some areas in the Eastern Visayas during the first quarter of this year.

The Department of Agriculture classified mango, banana, pineapple, vegetables and coffee as the five priority crops.

“Because of climate change, farmers have losses in their farms because their areas are also vulnerable to destructive typhoons and bad weather. It seems that climate change is the number one cause of low production,” Beringuer claimed.

During the first quarter, it was recorded that mango production had dropped to 12.45% from last year’s 24%; pineapple with 1.07% from 3% last year’s growth rate; coffee with -9.4% compared to last year’s 6%. The same also to vegetables that posts decline in the production.

Mango, which is one of the leading crops in the region in terms of production, were also affected by climate change.

“One process to boost the production in mango is through flower induction. However, since this year has most rainy seasons, the chemicals that are used in the process are drained because of rain,” Beringuer disclosed.

The banana that covers more than 30,000 hectares in the region compared to other HVVC even without a designed plantation is also affected of unexpected change in the climate. It posts 4.6% in the first quarter compared to last year’s 16% of production yield.

“Although, bananas are not uprooted with destructive typhoon and heavy rain, still its production and growth are affected,” Beringuer said.

The DA official said that farmers would have earned more if not because of climate change.

It was reported that Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told the affected segments in the agriculture sectors to include mitigating measures to climate change in DA’s action plans to adopt on its adverse consequences.

By Leyte Samar Daily

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Domestic Coffee Demand

Local coffee finds market in Cebu and Manila’s best shops, top hotels.

The Department of Agriculture has gone into revitalizing the local coffee industry in response to a growing demand for highly aromatic brewed native coffee in demand in the best coffee shops and five-star hotels in Metro Cebu & Manila.

In a report by the Philippine Coffee Board to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, undersecretary for field operations Jess Paras said the noble program to promote barako was launched under the tag “Pilipinas, Gising at Magkape.”

The program was embarked even before Yap teamed up with Nescafé in putting new vigor to coffee-plantation farming in the Philippines. The chief producer of instant coffee in the country had also realized tight domestic supply of its raw materials and sought to set up a steady source of local supply.

Nescafé, for the second-straight year, has found new competition from coffee shops that serve brewed local coffee that had earned the patronage of coffee-shop habitués.

“The coffee board said that starting last year, it has allotted P50 million to help rehabilitate aging coffee farms out of the 123,937 hectares planted from Northern Luzon to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” Paras said.

Of that total area planted, Paras said the coffee board has pinpointed 1,876.6 hectares for rehabilitation. The two biggest areas it has assisted were in different regions in Mindanao, led by Bukidnon with 725 hectares and Surigao del Sur with 350 hectares.

“Other coffee farmers helped to rehabilitate their coffee farms in Mindanao were in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and Maguindanao,” he said.

In Luzon, government assistance was plowed into 169 hectares in Mt. Province, Benguet and Kalinga in the Cordillera region; 179.9 hectares in Bataan and Bulacan in Central Luzon; plus 98.5 hectares in Cavite.

In the Visayas, the coffee-development agency has extended assistance to 180 hectares in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.

Coffee producers stopped exporting raw coffee in previous months due to favorable prices and increased demand by local companies processing instant coffee or serving the brewed, unrefined concoction known as green coffee.

By Business Mirror

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Eastern Visayas Mango Production Increase

Mango production in Eastern Visayas posts 12.45% growth.

Despite decline in the national output, mango production in Eastern Visayas posted a 12.45% growth during the first semester of 2009 compared to the harvest recorded the same period in 2008.

Application of mango flower inducers late last year has attributed to the 468 metric tons yield during the first half of 2009, up than last year’s 417 MT produce, said Veronica Berenguer, high value commercial crops coordinator for Eastern Visayas.

Berenger told Leyte Samar Daily Express that in the national level mango output growth rate went down by 14.53%.

Induce flowering is being done only once a year. From flowering to harvest, it takes 7-8 months to rejuvenate and accumulate enough nutrients for the next fruiting season.

“We have stepped up our campaign in enhancing the production of the region’s existing 120,000 mango trees. We have applied 150 kilograms of spray late last year. A single kilogram of inducer can spray five mango trees, she said.

For this year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will kick off the application of inducers between Sept. and Oct.

To maintain the performance, Berenguer said that their office has requested P7 million for El Niño mitigation plan if in case the phenomenon will hit the region.

In 2009, the agriculture department is eyeing to harvest 789 MT. “We are quite positive to attain the target since we already accomplished 60% during the first half of the year,” she added.

Mangoes are heavily grown in northwestern part of Leyte like towns of San Isidro, Palompon, Isabel, Leyte, Merida, Tabango, and the coastal part of Leyte such as Baybay, Hilongos, and Bato are the primary producers of mango in Region 8. Bato town has been processing it into dried mangoes for export

Meanwhile, Berenguer said that they are hopeful for the full operation of extended hot water treatment (EHWT) facility in Isabel, Leyte within this year in the bid to directly ship fresh fruits to Chinese market this year.

The said facility was established last March, which houses the port with strong international trading ties, she said.

Berenguer said that Leyte mangoes have been shipped to China through traders in areas with existing EHWT facilities like Cebu City.

Last year, China approved the Philippines’ EHWT technology which signifies its acceptance of the DAs sanitary and phytosanitary measures for disinfection against fruit fly in mangoes.

The EHWT, which was developed by the Bureau of Plant Industry and the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna, is designed to cut the cost of exporting mangoes to China by at least P20 a kilogram.

The newly set-up facility in Isabel town has a pre-wash area, dipping chambers, stainless steel matting for drying, cabinet for reagents, fans and polycarbonate roof for quick drying.

Through EHWT, fruit fly infestation is controlled by dipping green mature fruits to hot water until the pulp temperature of 460C is reached. The time of dipping would vary depending on size of the fruit.

“This is the first of its kind in the region. With the help of the local government, we will venture into direct exportation. We will follow the protocols because this will double the income of our local growers,” Berenguer told LSDE.

Earlier, the Isabel High Value Agri Producers Cooperative has mapped out plans to buy local mangoes for export at P80 per kilo. They will take charge of EHWT process. The local government unit has extended P1 million assistance to the cooperative.

By Leyte Samar Daily

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Eastern Samar Has Poor Quality Soil

7,000 has. of rice lands in Eastern Samar have poor quality soil.

Over 17,000 hectares of farms in Eastern Samar were identified as “at risk” considering their degrading soil quality, the Department of Agriculture, citing results of the soil fertility mapping survey, disclosed.

Arman Arcamo, regional soils and water area coordinator of DA’s Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) said that poor soil quality were prevalent in rice lands of nine towns of Eastern Samar, especially in Balangkayan, San Julian, and Hernani towns

Arcamo believed that the same result might come out from other provinces after conducting the said study aimed at identifying measures that would increase food productivity.

The survey has kicked off in Eastern Samar and it will cover all the six provinces of Region 8 in the next two years.

“The use of inorganic fertilizer could be one of the factors causing the degradation of soil quality,” he said.

In a separate interview, DA regional executive director Leo Cañeda said that the “natural way” is present in the soil “aggravated by poor management especially in a fragile ecosystem.”

“We shall be intensely pushing for organic farming to a more healthier living and environment,” Cañeda said.

Arcamo said that they want to promote organic agriculture as an effective and sustainable approach to food security, resource management, income generations and poverty alleviation in the rural areas.

“The result of the survey will help people realize the importance of organic farming to maintain good soil quality,” he added.

The official admitted that organic farming has been confronted with problems such as limited promotion of technologies and access on inputs, lack of access to credit, small budget allocation, undeveloped market, and insufficient appreciation of the broad public benefits.

To step up promotion, DA will provide some 116 composting facilities to areas with below 3.8 metric tons yield per cropping. Half of it will be distributed this month and the rest will be provided next year.

Each of the facility can produce 800 kilograms of organic fertilizer every single hour operation using biodegradable materials commonly found in rice farms.

“Each facility is capable of providing the requirement of 100 hectares of farm per cropping. It will increase yield up to 30%,” Arcamo said.

With the rising cost of commercial fertilizers, the official said that the project is envisioned to reduce the use of imported chemical fertilizers for rice production for at least two bags per hectare.

In its project description, the BSWM said that the clamor to shift from conventional to a more sustainable production system has been strong after recognizing the negative effects of long-term use of inorganic fertilizers.

By Leyte Samar Daily

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Senator Angara Sponsors Farm Bill

Senator Angara sponsors bill to develop idle farm lands, generate harvest.

The government can immediately address rural poverty by putting to good use arable lands in the provinces, Sen. Edgardo Angara suggested over the weekend.

Enlisting congressional support for the plan, Angara introduced Senate Bill 883, entitled Rural Employment Generation Act of 2007, which seeks to develop idle and underutilized agricultural lands to generate, he said, high-quality produce and employment for the rural population.

A former secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Angara pointed out that at least 5 million Filipinos in the rural sector are either unemployed or underemployed largely due to “the underutilization of agricultural lands in the country. At the same time, we are missing the opportunity of harvest.”

He proposed that the DA, as lead agency to implement this Act through the Rural Employment Generation Program, could convert a million hectares of unused lands into farms of hybrid corn, cassava and high-value commercial crops (HVCCs) in a period of two years.

“The program will integrate existing crop areas with idle prime lands into clusters of mechanized and irrigated farms, adopt modern crop production technologies, enhance farmers’ access to credit for their purchases and capital, provide training for farmers on innovations in postharvest mechanization and processing, and promote local capacity-building,” he said.

The senator added that a quality standard system will also be implemented on feed grain, vegetables, fibers, fruits and industrial crops to ensure their quality for consumption as well as better and competitive prices in the domestic market.

Noting that local farm produce has recently taken a slump in the market due to imported goods from neighboring Asian countries, Angara asserted that “this bill will boost our capability to produce high-quality crops.”

Under Angara’s bill, a joint committee between the government and the private sector will be created to facilitate both their active participation in the program, specifically in managing implementation of the program and identifying farmer-beneficiaries, credit channels and markets and service providers.

The bill will, likewise, provide for an Agricultural Development Fund of P5.55 billion for the first year and P4.1 billion for the second year of the program, to be taken from the budget of the DA. The program is then expected to generate rural employment valued at P10.35 billion and private-sector investments worth P10.6 billion.

“Not only are we maximizing the richness of our resources for healthy consumption; we are also creating jobs for millions of Filipinos in the provinces to keep them self-subsisting so they can build better lives. The core objective of this bill is to drastically reduce rural poverty,” he said.

By Business Mirror

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Eastern Visayas Submarine Rice

DA to plant submarine rice in 16,720 hectares of land.

Tacloban City — The agriculture department is eyeing to cover 16,720 hectares of flood-prone rice farms in Eastern Visayas in its first attempt to plant submergence tolerant rice genotypes this year.

Agriculture regional executive director Leo Cañeda said they have already identified pilot areas for propagation in 12 sites located in Palo, Sta. Fe, Pastrana, Tacloban City, and Babatngon, all in Leyte.

“The variety is very ideal in the region considering that rain is frequent in Eastern Visayas. The areas identified are reported to be flood-prone areas. Three to four genotypes were found to be promising in the region are now being tested by the farmer themselves in their respective fields,” Cañeda explained.

The over 16,000 hectares vulnerable to flooding is being targeted for cultivation of 16 submergence tolerant rice genotypes in the next cropping, according to officials. The area accounts 11% of the region’s farms devoted to staple food planting.

“Most of the farmers in these areas depend on their livelihood in rice farming and majority of the farmers do not have access to up-to-date information,” he added.

Eastern Visayas, along with Bicol and Caraga regions, has been identified by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as area most prone to flashfloods.

“The variety can tolerate a two-week flood unlike the common type that can be damaged after being submerged for three days,” he told Leyte Samar Daily Express. The variety was developed by the International Rice Research Institute and Philippine Rice Research Institute.

The official stressed the need to disseminate information about these varieties and its associated technologies to “reduce production and income losses of farmers due to frequent devastating typhoons and flooding.”

Cañeda said that last June to November 2008, a study was conducted by DA at Brgy. Cangumbang, Palo, Leyte and Brgy. Buntay, Oras, Eastern Samar to find out which among of the 16 varieties are tallest, matures early and highest yield.

Participatory varietal selection-researcher managed was conducted in farmer’s fields. Called as “mother trial,” the activity evaluates in detail the adaptability of the different rice genotypes.

The first submergence-tolerant rice variety in the Philippines was released during the 27th Council Secretariat Meeting on July 7 this year.

The variety was infused with submergence tolerance gene (Sub1), which was discovered by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the University of California-Davis from an Indian rice variety FR13A.

According to PhilRice, the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) has approved early this month for propagation of the first flood-tolerant rice variety in the country.

In the region, the DA has drafted methodology to advance promotion of new genotypes, which include conduct of yield trials: participatory varietal selection- researcher managed and farmer-managed, conduct of on-station simulated flooding trial, and seed production.

By Leyte Samar Daily

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