The Department of Agriculture in the Caraga Region (DA-13) reported Friday the increase in rice and corn production in the area this year.

So far, Caraga already achieved 357,692.6 metric tons (MT) of rice production this year, or an increase of five percent from the 339,181.91 (MT) production in 2022.

“An increase of 1.9 percent, or 2,124 hectares in land area planted with rice was also recorded in the region in 2023,” Josefa Gidacan, chief of the Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation Division of DA-13, said during a press conference.

Gidacan attributed the increase in production to the utilization of high-yielding rice seeds, mechanization, and the use of new technologies in rice production.

Yellow corn production in the region also grew to 39,524 MT this year compared to 25,071 MT last year, while production of white corn rose to 30,667 MT in 2023 compared to 21,531 MT in 2022.

“The land area planted with yellow corn also increased by 63 percent this year and white corn to 33 percent,” Melody Guimary, chief of DA-13’s Field Operations Division, said.

For this year, she said DA-13 was allocated PHP854.8 million to support the development of different agricultural sectors.

The lion’s share of the budget went to rice production at PHP260,852,000, followed by the livestock program at PHP211,120,000, local and foreign-funded programs at PHP193,760,000, and corn program at PHP113,520,000.

Guimary said the agency’s budget this year benefited more than 16,000 and 284 local associations.

“The DA-13 is thankful to the members of the media in the region for helping us disseminate vital information to our farmers and the different sectors in the region, especially on the programs and services of our agency,” Guimary said. (PNA)