THE government will infuse additional P1 billion into the farm sector to increase rice production by at least 300,000 metric tons, the Department of Agriculture said.

The additional funds were deemed necessary by the country’s economic managers to accelerate the growth of the economy this year, Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said recently.

Panganiban pointed out that this would form part of the pump-priming efforts intended to jack up the country’s rice production to 14.9 million metric tons and cut down imports this year. The production target is higher than the 14.6 million metric tons of rice produced last year.

He said the additional budget will be used to repair irrigation dams and build additional catch basins in preparations for excess rainfall arising from the La Niña weather phenomenon.

The La Niña ,which may shorten the summer months this year, may also help improve rice production this year.

“However, this will entail more farm support access to credit, seeds and other inputs for about 3.5 million farmers in the countryside,” Panganiban added.

The additional amount will increase the DA’s total budget to P4 billion.

The Inter-Agency Development Budget Coordinating Council earlier approved the release of some P3 billion for the repair of existing irrigation facilities and construction of new ones to cover 1.2 million hectares of farmlands nationwide.

Some P500 million will be earmarked for the purchase and distribution of inputs such as seeds and fertilizers.