Caraga Region has experienced a decrease in palay production in the region to at least 7 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year, the Philippine Statistics Authority says. (PNA file photo)
BUTUAN CITY – The Philippine Statistics Authority in the Caraga Region (PSA-13) reported a decrease in palay production in the region to at least 7 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Based on the Palay Production Survey (PPS), the PSA-13 said the region’s palay harvest last year was recorded at 467,744 metric tons compared to the 503,331 metric tons of harvest in 2020.
“The decrease of production was attributed to the diminution of area harvested to 5.25 percent,” it said.
It added that the total area harvested in 2021 was estimated at 147,878 hectares which was 8,195 hectares lower compared with last year’s level of 156,073 hectares.
“Likewise, the yield per hectare decreased by 1.92 percent from 3.22 metric tons per hectare in 2020 to 3.16 metric tons per hectare in 2021,” the PSA-13 said.
The survey also showed that the production of irrigated palay contributes 63.50 percent to the total palay production in the region.
Last year, the production of irrigated palay also exhibited a negative growth of 11.24 percent from 334,642 metric tons in 2020 to 297,026 metric tons in 2021.
An increase of 1.20 percent in the production of rainfed palay was also noted last year, or a total harvest of 170,717 metric tons that contributed 36.50 percent to the total palay production in the region.
The average yield of palay in the region also dropped to 3.16 metric tons per hectare last year from 3.22 metric tons per hectare yield in 2020.
“The decline was attributed to the decrease in the yield of irrigated palay from 3.44 metric tons per hectare to 3.36 metric tons per hectare,” the PSA-13 said.
Among the provinces, the PSA-13 survey showed that Agusan del Sur consistently posted the highest share with 54.99 percent of the region’s total palay production in 2021; followed by Surigao del Sur with 16.13 percent share; Agusan del Norte with 13.83 percent share; Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands 13.68 percent and 1.37 percent, respectively.
In terms of the actual volume of palay production last year, Agusan del Sur also posted the highest volume of palay harvested with 257,215 metric tons. This is followed by Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Norte with a total volume of 75,469 metric tons and 64,669 metric tons, respectively.
Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands, meanwhile, produced 63,998 metric tons and 6,393 metric tons, respectively in 2021.
Agusan del Sur also ranked first in terms of the total area harvested for palay last year with 80,622 hectares; followed by Surigao del Sur with 24,975 hectares; Agusan del Norte with 20,368 hectares; Surigao del Norte with 19,031 hectares; and Dinagat Islands harvested with 2,882 hectares.
The PPS, the PSA-13 said, is one of the major agricultural surveys with the aim to generate estimates on palay production, area, yield, and other production-related data.
Data generated from PPS will serve as inputs to the Performance of Agriculture Report, and for the preparation of the Gross Regional Domestic Product.
“The survey supports the data needs of planners, policy, and decision-makers, and other stakeholders in the agriculture sector,” the PSA-13 said. (PNA)
