Kalinga has enough Rice staple until end of quarantine

April 12, 2020 Provincial

Kalingas were assured of sufficient rice supply until the end of the ECQ on April 30.
Officials from the Provincial, City and Municipal Agricultural Offices, National Food Authority (NFA), National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and millers from palay buying stations just assessed the rice sufficiency of the province and looked if the supply is enough to last until April 30.
Kalinga Provincial Agriculturist Domingo Bakilan said 221,491 individuals in the province consume 166.6 kilograms of rice per year. He assured that the province is self-sufficient with a percentage of more than 200% self-sufficiency rates.
Tabuk City Agriculturist Julibert Aquino reported that more or less 30% of the rice fields in Tabuk City were already planted with rice seeds and more than 30% of areas are undergoing land preparation. At least 10, 417 hectares of farmlands in Tabuk City are irrigated.
Nasser Rey Juan of the Office of the Agricultural Services – Rizal also claimed that there is a total of 1,886 hectares are included in the harvested area in nearby Rizal town and an estimate of 811 hectares are to be harvested. He assured that farmers in Rizal will begin planting this month of April.
There are 67,000 palay stocks at NFA warehouses in Bulanao, Tabuk City and Rizal town with 516 bags of milled rice, assured NFA Kalinga General Manager Fe Salim. She also said some 1,000 bags of rice are in their reserves.
Kalinga Governor Ferdinand Tubban asked the traders to set aside rice stocks for future use in the province. He appealed to the rice traders to bear in their hearts the welfare of the people and ensure stable rice supply.
Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN