The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) eyes the adjustment of its cropping calendar to October instead of March to ensure sufficient farm yield and minimize rice importation.
In a statement yesterday, NIA said it is looking into the implementation of two cropping periods during dry season with the first one set from October to January and the other one from February to May.
The agency said the adjustments would help reduce potential crop damage brought about by typhoons during the wet season.
Citing data from the Bureau of Plant Industry, NIA said rice importation stood at 3.22 million metric tons (MT) in 2023. This volume is equivalent to around 5 million MT of palay.
Eduardo Guillen, NIA administrator, said the agency fast-tracks the implementation of the existing and new irrigation projects and the utilization of high-yielding hybrid varieties of palay.
Guillen added convergence efforts with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Works and Highways as well as other national government agencies, local government and private sector in irrigation development are also being pursued.-Jed Macapagal
