COTABATO CITY, June 18 (PNA) -- An agriculture
official in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday said
there is no shortage of rice in the region.
This is because the dry spell that hit rice and
corn producing areas in the region from February to May this year has not
caused any shortage in supply of grains owing to the 60 percent increase in
production during the two preceding cropping seasons.
Farmers in the region, in fact, have had
sufficient supply surplus from their harvests prior to the dry spell, Makmod
Mending, Jr., ARMM agriculture secretary, said.
Mending said farmers did not feel any long-term
effect of the four-month drought.
“There was no shortage of rice and corn
supplies in the region as a result of that drought,” Mending told reporters.
He cited his office carried out mitigating
measures during the dry months resulting in stable supply of palay.
"Credit should go to the farmers and DAF's
field personnel for having cooperated well in implementing measures aimed at
preventing any undue effect of the drought," he said.
The atmosphere of peace brought about by the
GPH and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace process gave an opportunity
for farmers to focus on farming thus an increased production this year, Mending
said.
Mending said the tranquility made farmers till
their land without any disruptions or threats while DA technicians had all the
opportunity to assist farmers become more productive.
According to Kadiguia Rakman Abdullah, DAF’s
chief information officer, the DA intervention also made the farmers productive
with many of them, including mothers, who used to be unproductive, became busy
with “Gulayan sa Barangay” projects.
She supported Mending's
assertion that the prevailing peace and order situation in remote communities
made the DA technicians visit more areas to introduce modern farming
techniques. (PNA)
LAM/NYP/EOF
LAM/NYP/EOF
