By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff
Reporter
Laoag City
agriculturist Oscar Recta announced that Laoag City is a national awardee in
the field of quality rice production.
The awarding ceremony will be held at
Resort World Hotel Plaza in Pasay City on March 14 and Laoag City is set to
receive P1 million worth of agricultural projects as prize for the award.
According to Recta, the selection for award
was based on rice production wherein Laoag produced 220 cavans per hectare
compared to the past years which was only about 60 cavans per hectare. In
effect, the city attained a 60 percent increase for 2013.
He added that it was also based on the
quality of rice produced with the use of improved varieties of rice, including hybrid
rice seeds. This became possible after an ordinance was passed in the city
calling for the city’s share in Republic Act 7171, or the tobacco excise tax
act, to be used in the purchase of hybrid rice and corn seeds to be distributed
for free to farmers.
Records show that Laoag has an estimated
3,150 hectares used for rice production with 69,300 cavans produced every
planting season.
Recta also disclosed that currently, some
parts of Brgys. Madiladig, Cataban, Tangid and Bengcag have at least three
cropping seasons for rice after they became fully irrigated.
Meanwhile, Recta was also named the national
most outstanding city agriculturist and most outstanding agriculture extension
worker Josephine Aljon. Both are set to receive cash prizes of P20,000 each.
In addition to this, Recta also said that
his office recently received a communication that Laoag was also adjudged as a
regional winner for 2014 Gawad Saka Search as Outstanding Regional Agriculture
and Fishery Council and that they would be vying for the national title.
Likewise, a farmer of Laoag, Mario Pagal of
Brgy. Barit, also won as Regional Outstanding Small Animal Raiser and would also
be vying for the national award.
Unluckily, Recta said that Pagal died with
heart failure due to overexcitement.
Relative to this, Recta requested the DA
regional office the possibility of replacing the deceased winner with his wife
for the continuation of the award for the national category.
Pagal owned an integrated farming system and
was a hog, goat and cow raiser.
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