ONE million to 1.2 metric tons of rice were harvested in Pangasinan rice land during last rice harvest that ended in December.

According to Dalisay Moya, provincial agriculturist, the recent bountiful rice harvest enabled the province to remain the biggest rice producer in Region 1 and the third biggest in the country.

The average rice harvest per hectare in the province this year was 4.3 to 4.4 metric tons and more if the rice land is irrigated and farmers have adopted the modern farming technology, Moya said. 

She said while Pangasinan scored a bountiful harvest having been spared from destructive typhoons, local farmers, however, did not benefit from it because of the impact of the Rice Tariffication Law that resulted in low prices for palay.

But this is now being responded by the national government through the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) of the Department of Agriculture which will benefit some 87,000 farmers tilling from half a hectare to two hectares of land.  

Notwithstanding the negative impact of the Rice Tariffication Law, farmers have not lost their steam and are set to plant rice for the second rice cropping season.

Moya said many local farmers began cultivating irrigated rice lands immediately after their harvest and have started to plant rice and many others were seen preparing their paddies. 

Meanwhile, Moya said the cecid fly continues to wreak havoc on the mango industry not only in Pangasinan but in the whole country.  (Leonardo Micua) 

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