MANILA, Philippines - The government has scaled down its rice imports to 300,000 to 400,000 metric tons next year instead of the original 1.3 million.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said a survey undertaken by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicated the anticipated damage on rice production caused by Typhoons Yolanda and Lando was not as bad.
Likewise, the anticipated production in the last quarter of the year and the first three months of 2016 would be higher, despite the damage of Typhoons Nona and Onyok.
Balisacan explained that estimates, plus the PSA survey, show damage from the recent typhoon was minimal in Central Luzon and the Calabarzon.
“The last survey after Typhoon Lando turns out that the expected production for the first quarter next year and even the harvest for this year would be higher than what was initially estimated,” he pointed oout.
Government has also put in place appropriate program to address the impact of El Nino and part of the program is to maximize the opportunities for increasing production in areas where there is water supply.
In fact, government has set aside a P19-billion El Nino mitigation fund. It will be sourced from the current budget worth P6.6 billion, and the rest to come from savings raised from project bids.
The funds will be used to fuel the food-for-work program in drought-affected areas, as well as seed money to start new irrigation systems or repair damaged ones.