By Venus May H, Sarmiento

ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan – This vast agricultural province ranks third nationwide in terms of rice production and has a self-sufficiency rate of 170%, according to a representative of the Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Jeanette Villareal of DA Regional Field Unit I said, Pangasinan comes third after the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Isabela while Region I is number 4 country-wide.

“Pangasinan’s self-sufficiency rate on rice production is 170%, however the land area for hybrid rice production is not maximized, “ Villareal said before a thousand farmers who attended the city’s launching of its hybrid rice seed subsidy program onTuesday.

Villareal said that out of the 180,000 hectares of agricultural land in the province, only 12,000 are used for hybrid rice production.

DA also announced its approval of a grant for two-flat bed dryers worth P170,000 each for the city in barangays Alos Paed and Qubuar. A third request for barangay Cabatuan-Casolming is awaiting approval.

City Mayor Hernani Braganza overjoyed of this new development, said that based on researches and studies he conducted together with City Agriculturist Ernesto De Leon, most of what should have been the farmers’ profit are lost due to lack of post-harvest facilities.

“Do you know that 20% of your expected income is lost due to lack of post-harvest facilities? Just imagine, of your 100 cavans of palay, 20 cavans are lost when you are drying them in the streets or rushing to put them back in the sack when sudden rains come,.” he pointed out

“If I’m not mistaken, 20 cavans of palay is equivalent to 7 cavans of rice. If one cavan of rice is worth P1,000, then you immediately lost P7,000 which should have been for your family” Branganza explained.

Braganza said with the new flat-bed dryers, the farmers can ensure more production and more income for them.

The Mayor added that the city government also purchased heavy equipments like dump trucks, loaders, bulldozer and grader worth P50 million and set aside budget for the repair of water-impounding dams for barangays with no irrigation facilities, all for the benefit of farmers and fisherfolks. (PIA-Pangasinan)