Guimaras’ palay yield improves in 2019

Guimaras province produced 47,726 metric tons (MT) of palay in the whole year of 2019, higher by 4.37 percent than the 45,728 MT produced in 2018.

The increase was fueled by yield increment in both irrigated and rainfed farms.

Irrigated farms produced 12,057 MT, or about 6.63 percent higher than the 2018 production of 11,307 MT, while rainfed farms produced 35,669 MT, up by 3.71 percent from the 34,394 MT in 2018.

The bulk of the 2019 output came from rainfed farms, contributing 74.74 percent (35,669 MT) to the province’s total production.

“On the other hand, production from irrigated farms at 12,057 metric tons accounted 25.26 percent of the annual production of the province,” according to Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)- Guimaras Provincial Statistical Office.

Moreover, the estimated area harvested in the whole year of 2019 went up by 7.10 percent.

Harvest area of irrigated farms increased by 8.05 percent and 6.85 percent on the part of rainfed farms. This was attributed to increased area harvested in the first quarter of 2019 due to scattered rains during planting season.

In terms of percentage share to the total area harvested, rainfed farms accounted for 79.33 percent while irrigated farms contributed 20.67 percent.

“The data showed that the annual palay production of the province came mainly from rainfed areas that are dependent on rainwater for their growth and development,” Losare explained.

In totality, Western Visayas’ palay production in 2019 decreased by 13.10 percent, from 2,232,292.75 metric tons in 2018 to 2,077,790.03 metric tons a year after.

“Among provinces, Iloilo remained as the top palay producing province of the region in 2019, with 40.32 percent share to the total regional output”, Losare stated.

Negros Occidental came in second, contributing 23.27 percent. Antique was third at 15.05 percent followed by Capiz with 14.52 percent contribution.

Meanwhile, the province of Aklan ranked fifth with a 4.53 percent share, while, Guimaras produced the least, with only 2.30 percent contribution.