DA nominates Zambo Sur as one of 2014 Top 10 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achiever Award finalists

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?&sid=6&pfn=728085&arch=1&go=Go&search_arch=Pagadian%20City,%20Zamboanga%20del%20Sur&andor=and&mdte_arch=1&ddte_arch=0&ydte_arch=2015

By Hirohito D. Cadion

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Jan. 22 (PNA) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) has included this province in its shortlist of finalists for the 2014 Top 10 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award provincial category.

Marivic Jongco, provincial government information officer, made this announcement Thursday, citing this province is one of the 15 nominee-provinces in the entire country for the award.

Jongco said nine of the 15 nominated provinces are from Luzon namely Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Isbela, Nueva Ecija, Mindoro Oriental, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Tarlac.

Jongco said the remaining six nominee-provinces, including this province, are all from Mindanao.

Aside from this province, the other nominated provinces from Mindanao are Bukidnon, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur and Misamis Occidental.

DA is set to announce the top 10 winners next month and officials here are confident that this province will be declared as one of the awardees for the 2014 Top 10 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award.

The Top 10 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award started in 2012 and aimed to recognize the provincial and municipal governments for their outstanding efforts and best practices in terms of rice production, yield and sufficiency.

Meanwhile, Acting Provincial Agriculturist Joel Sabellano has attributed this province’s nomination to the Top 10 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award to last year’s increase of rice production.

He said data from his office showed that this province’s rice production marked an increase of 19,352 metric tons (MT) in 2014 of 340,839 MT compared to that in 2013 of 321,487 MT.

Sabellano said this came about as this province registered an average yield of 4.55 MT per hectare, which is higher to the usual 4 MT per hectare in other provinces.

He said the various agricultural projects, including those related to organic agriculture, initiated by Governor Antonio Cerilles boosted the rice production of this province. (PNA)
LAP/TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION/EDS