ILOCOS region has at present 189 percent rice sufficiency, more than enough to meet the needs of its people but it has no control over the movement of the commodity.

This was pointed out by Erlinda Manipon, OIC Regional Technical director of the Department of Agriculture Region 1, who said some of the rice produced in Pangasinan and La Union are supplying the needs of Baguio and Benguet.

But the bulk of the rice produce of these two rice producing provinces are going to Metro Manila, Manipon told the KBP Forum.

She admitted that there is three percent shortfall in rice in the projected consumption of households in the country which compelled the continuing importation of rice
from Vietnam and Thailand by the government.

She said Region 1 is the fourth rice producing region in the entire country today after Central Luzon, Cagayan and Western Visayas, in that order while Pangasinan is the third biggest rice producer in the entire country after Nueva Ecija and Isabela. Pangasinan maintains its lead as the biggest rice producer in Region 1 despite the onslaught of extreme flooding caused by monsoon rains because as Gov. Amado Espino III noted, about 90 percent of palay in Pangasinan were already harvested from the fields before Typhoon “Rosita” hit.

Meanwhile, Manipon said DA Region 1 is now all set to implement a rehab plan for rice, corn and high value crops and vegetables to replace the crops lost from the calamities. A rehab plan for fisheries is now also being worked out although the
losses in fisheries were negligible.

She added that the Philippine Crops Insurance Corporation (PCIC) has already a master list of farmers entitled to receive compensation for their damaged insured crops. (Leonardo Micua)

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