DA hails Pangasinan's contribution to national food sufficiency

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=11&rid=785228
• Wednesday, July 22, 2015

(PNA), LAP/LVM/LVMICUA/RMA

STA. Barbara, Pangasinan, July 22 (PNA) -- The Department of Agriculture hailed the province of Pangasinan for its significant contribution to the country's food self-sufficiency program.

DA Regional Director Valentin Perdido said Pangasinan is today's third biggest rice producing province in the country after Nueva Ecija and Isabela, producing 1.1 million metric tons of rice yearly.

Perdido spoke during the distribution of farm implements which include hand tractors, four-wheel tractors, threshers, combined harvesters, mechanical cutters and others by DA to various farmers' cooperatives in Pangasinan during a ceremony here.

The farmer equipment were given out by the DA so that farmers can improve their harvests but the recipient cooperatives from various towns of Pangasinan were asked to put up their counterpart funds.

The ceremony was attended by Gov. Amado Espino Jr. who the DA thanked for consistently making the province as top rice producer in the country through the province's numerous programs that improved harvests of farmers.

Perdido said that to date, Pangasinan is 194 percent self-sufficient in rice. However, 94 percent of its rice produce are being exported to other provinces which are rice-deficient.

Gov. Espino said that under his administration, Pangasinan was the national rice achiever's award recipient three times and three times national corn quality awardee which is unprecedented in the history of the province.

He said that with the approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the P2.6-billion Agno River Integrated Irrigation Extension Project (ARISEP), at least 18,000 hectares more of rainfed areas in the province will be irrigated.

Espino believes that for the next 30 to 50 years, Pangasinan will still be an agricultural province.

As the lands for agricultural production will be decreasing and not increasing, there is a need to put science and technology in production so farmers will earn more out of their limited lands.

Espino said that it is a must that farmers send their children to school till they graduate as professionals and focus on other endeavors.

He lauded the distribution of farm equipment to farmers' cooperatives by DA as this will boost their harvests in rice and corn.