Rice ratooning gives P18k summer income to farmers

By JUNE S. BLANCO

FARMERS in Bohol’s 2nd District stand to get an additional P18,000 income this summer out of a third rice crop.

This after congressional wannabe Erico Aristotle “Aris” Aumentado this week distributed urea fertilizers to farmers who are members of irrigators associations (IAs) organized by the national Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Ubay, San Miguel, Talibon and Dagohoy towns.

Aris is carrying on the rice ratooning program initiated by his father and namesake Erico Aumentado with NIA in coordination with Land Bank of the Philippines and the private sector. The solon died on Christmas Day last year but Aris is continuing the implementation of his programs especially those under a memorandum of understanding.

He has filed his certificate of candidacy as replacement candidate for his father for this May elections.

The 2nd District Congressional District office had also taken up the slack after the Department of Agriculture practically reneged on its end of the counter-parting bargain for the fertilizers due to non-availability of funds.

Under the ratooning program, farmers get three crops from just two plantings in a year. After the dry season harvest, the farmers remove the weeds and apply urea allowing the rice shoots to bear grains again for harvest in May or June.

Records show that the around 1,850 farmers harvest an additional 25 bags of palay per hectare which Marcela Farms of the Alturas Group of Companies buy at a minimum of P15 per kilo properly dried, or P18 per kilo if of the hybrid variety. This means P750 per 50-kilo bag for the former, and P900 per bag for the latter – covered under separate marketing agreements included in the MOU.

Aumentado said the farmers can use the additional income for the expected expenses for the fiestas in May, or enrolment of their children for the next school year starting in June.