DAVAO CITY: North Cotabato’s provincial government and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) will launch next week a program to augment rice supply in the area during the lean season.
In a Facebook post on Monday, MinDA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the initiative emerged from a coordination meeting with Governor Nancy A. Catamco and Agriculture Assistant Secretary for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) Dr. Sailila Abdula, representing the PhilRice based in Midsayap, Cotabato.
North Cotabato is ranked No. 8 among the Top 10 rice-producing provinces of the Philippines, posting a production of 500,000 metric tons in 2017 when the country posted its highest production in history of 19.28 million metric tons.
Piñol said the “Quick Turn-Around Plan” for Mindanao’s rice industry was crafted due to the projected tight supply of rice in the country resulting from the announced intentions of major exporting countries to stop or limit their exports as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
He said MinDA, in coordination with the local government units (LGUs), would implement the program with the support of the Department of Agriculture and the National Irrigation Administration.
“The Quick Turn-Around Plan aims to produce additional rice before the onset of the lean months, which start (in) July and stretches up to October to avert a feared shortfall in rice supply in Mindanao,” Piñol said.
He said the program will initially be rolled out in North Cotabato and “will later be cascaded in other provinces of Mindanao.” (PNA)