| |
|
|
|
Bohol's
P15-million rice hybridization program was formally
launched Monday in a bid to address the remaining 15-percent
gap in the province's rice sufficiency.
The
launching, which was attended by municipal mayors and
key provincial government officials involved in the
food sufficiency program were urged by Gov. Erico Aumentado
to ensure abundant harvest to raise Bohol's rice adequacy
to 100-percent by 2009.
The
program, called RACER (Rice Accelerated Enhancement
Response) will give P1,400 of subsidy to farmers in
15 municipalities.
|
The
subsidy will be distributed in bags of certified and hybrid
rice seeds.
In
an interview with the Chronicle yesterday, the governor said
that since the issuance of his executive order that regulates
rice shipments to traders outside the province, the Bureau
of Agriculture Statistics (BAS) and the National Food Authority
(NFA) said that the sufficiency level has risen to 85-percent,
from a 82-percent last month.
|
|
|
Aumentado
said, so far rice shipments have been limited to about
5,000 bags since the EO was issued and that prices of
rice sold in the market has gone down.
Aside
from hybridization of rice, RACER identifies two other
steps to address the rice crisis and to improve harvests
in the province.
The
provincial government, through the mayors, is urging
farmers to expand the area of their rice and corn fields.
Aumentado
targets an additional 1,000 hectares by the end of 2008.
|
National
Irrigation Administration (NIA) project manager Modesto Membreve
was also instructed by the governor to fast-track the land-levelling
program at the Bohol Irrigation Project (BHIP) Stage 2 service
areas while water in the Bayongan Dam is still abundant.
Presently,
the Bayongan irrigation facility serves only about 800 hectares
of its target service area of 5,300 hectares.
The
governor told agriculture technicians to determine areas only
with slopes of between 12-18 degrees for biofuel production,
those with 18 degrees for endemic trees to maintain biodiversity.
As
suggested by Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera, expanding agricultural
production areas can also be done by raising taxes to idle
but arable lands. This is the third part of the RACER program.
Citing
the Local Government Code, the governor said idle lands can
be subjected to 5% more realty taxes, while adding that the
government can also forfeit uncultivated lands in favor of
a private entity who would be willing to invest.
|
