Q3 palay harvest area expands

The harvest area for palay nationwide during the July-September period increased further this year, raising production of the staple grain. (Photo by Mr. Leeds/Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

MANILA — The harvest area for palay nationwide during the July-September period increased further this year, raising production of the staple grain.

This year’s palay harvest area rose 14.43 percent to 852,629 hectares nationwide, latest available data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show.

The data show such hectarage exceeded the country’s palay harvest area of 745,136 hectares and 652,718 hectares in 2016 and 2015, respectively.

“Increases in harvest area across regions were attributed mainly on sufficient water supply and government interventions on provision of high-yielding varieties, seeds and fertilizer during the cropping period,” said PSA, explaining this year’s increase in palay hectarage.

The increase helped the country realize 14.17 percent growth in palay production during the July-September 2017 period when output hit almost 3.4 million metric tons, said PSA.

Philippine palay production volume was lower in 2016 (2.96 million MT) and 2015 (2.55 million MT), it added.