3 harvests in 1 year! Cotabato Ilocano farmers prove we could be rice self-sufficient
(Photos and drone shots were taken by the media team of the Mindanao Development Authority)
A community of Ilocano farmers in Manubuan, Matalam, Cotabato has proven that with readily accessible irrigation water, highyielding seeds, sufficient soil nutrients and farm equipment, the dream of a Rice Self-Sufficient Philippines could come true. Yesterday, I joined the Small Water Irrigation System Association (SWISA) of Manubuan, Matalam in a harvest festival to celebrate the second of their three croppings for the year. Manubuan SWISA President Tranquilino Caraga INFOCUS
Polanco, a retired public school teacher and former vice mayor of Matalam, said the P7-M Solar-Powered Irrigation System (SPIS), one of the first to be constructed all over the country when I was Agriculture Secretary, is the key to their multiple croppings and the increase in their annual yield per hectare from 3 to 21 metric tons. “Before, we were only able to plant once a year, minsan kung mahina ang ulan, failure pa,” Polanco said adding that their average production per hectare before the SPIS was established was only
3 metric tons per hectare per year. In 2017, after President Rodrigo Duterte launched the SPIS Program of the Department of Agriculture, a small budget was allocated for the experimental phase of the new technology. The construction of the Manubuan SPIS started in January 2018 and was completed three months later. By April of 2018, the farmers were planting rice in a 25-hectare area served by the SPIS September 4-10, 2021 |
37
