Production of palay and corn will likely decrease in the second quarter of 2015, according to forecast by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) as of May this year.
Palay production from April to June will probably decline by 4.3 percent to 3.898 million metric tons (MMT), from last year’s output of 4.073 MMT. This is also lower by 0.1 percent compared to the forecast made in April, at 3.902 MMT.
Corn production for the months of April to June may also experience a 17-percent decline to 997,000 MT, from the 1.2 MMT in 2014. This is lower by 3 percent, from the earlier forecast of 1.029 MMT in April.
The report said the decline could be due to the drop in harvest areas, brought about by the adverse effects of dry spell, insufficient water supply and incidence of pests and diseases in some provinces.
Harvest areas for palay may contract from 0.92 million hectares to 0.91 million hectares. The decrease in harvest areas of palay are foreseen in Agusan del Norte, Bukidnon, Sorsogon, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Occidental Negros Occidental, Capiz, Mindoro Oriental, Samar and Negros Oriental.
Overall yield of palay crops is projected to increase from 4.25 MT per hectare to 4.27 MT per hectare. However, the insufficient water supply and intense heat in Albay, Bulacan, Davao del Sur, Palawan and Apayao may affect the vegetative and reproductive stages of the crop, which may reduce its yield. The report said the incidence of tungro in Laguna and infestation of stemborer and rice black bug in South Cotabato and Surigao del Norte may also bring down production of palay.
Also, as of May, 630,000 hectares of the updated standing palay crops have already been harvested. The BAS has also identified about 124,000 hectares, or 14.3 percent, of the planting intentions for the third quarter of 2015.
Meanwhile, the harvest area for corn may contract to 330,000 hectares, from 336,000 hectares. The most affected areas are foreseen to be Bukidnon, Albay, South Cotabato, Camarines Sur, Quezon, Sarangani, Misamis Oriental, Apayao, Capiz, Misamis Occidental, Sultan Kudarat and Leyte. Sarangani and Leyte are also suffering from rodent and bird infestation, which could lead to the output decrease.