Nueva Ecija rice output under threat from irrigation fault; munggo eyed as stopgap

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is hoping to convert as much as 37,000 hectares of rice land in Nueva Ecija for planting to mung bean (munggo), as the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) races to repair damage to the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation System (UPRIIS).

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The DA said in a statement that the disruption to irrigation threatens to slash the summer rice harvest in Nueva Ecija, the top rice producing province, leaving thousands of farmers without a major source of income for months.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. was quoted as saying that the irrigation damage is expected to cut the rice crop by up to 120,000 metric tons (MT) next year.

Mr. Laurel said the DA and the NIA will support the expansion of mung bean production to provide income to affected farmers.