Palay and corn production in Ilocos Region grew in 3^rd quarter 2019 compared with their respective level in 3^rd quarter 2018.

Palay

Palay production in 3^rd quarter 2019 was posted at 186,265 metric tons, higher than the estimate in 3^rd quarter 2018 of 152,465 metric tons. Early plantings were made due to the presence of early rains and lesser destructive typhoons, unlike last year. Harvesting scheduled in October 2019 were already done during the period due to fast maturity and good weather. Thus, harvest area expanded from 38,506 hectares to 38,807 hectares. The yield per hectare also grew from 3.96 metric tons to 4.80 metric tons.

The province of Pangasinan accounted for the biggest proportion of the total palay production of Ilocos Region in 3^rd quarter 2019 with 51.46 percent share. Its output was higher in 3^rd quarter 2019 with 95,857 metric tons compared with the 3^rd quarter 2018 output of 85,641 metric tons. The frequent rains in May 2019 and increased usage of high quality seeds increased the yield per hectare from 4.06 metric tons to 4.68 metric tons. Meanwhile, harvesting in some areas did not materialize during the period. Thus, the harvest area decreased from 21,083 metric tons to 20,475 metric tons.

The province of Ilocos Norte ranked second in terms of volume of palay production in the region in 3^rd quarter 2019. Its output of 48,266 metric tons was higher than the output in 3^rd quarter 2018 of 30,542 metric tons. Early plantings were made due to the presence of early rains and lesser destructive typhoons, unlike last year. The overall harvest area expanded from 8,539 hectares to 9,727 hectares. The yield per hectare improved from 3.58 metric tons to 4.96 metric tons.

Palay production in Ilocos Sur is third highest in terms of production in 3^rd quarter 2019 with 16.58 percent of the total palay production in Ilocos Region. From the output of 21,730 metric tons in the same period of 2018, it went up to 30,885 metric tons. Harvest area expanded from 5,408 hectares to 6,155 hectares as some plantings to be harvested in October 2019 were already harvested during the period. The overall yield per hectare increased from 4.02 metric tons to 5.02 metric tons.

La Union recorded the least volume of palay production with 6.04 percent of the total palay production in the region in 3^rd quarter 2019. Its output during the period went down to 11,257 metric tons from 14,552 metric tons recorded in 3^rd quarter 2018. Similarly, the harvest area decreased from 3,476 hectares to 2,450 hectares due to delayed harvesting in low-lying areas. Meanwhile, the yield per hectare improved from 4.19 metric tons to 4.59 metric tons due to increased usage of high quality seeds and absence of destructive typhoons, unlike last year.

Corn

Corn production in Ilocos Region increased by 2.82 percent in 3^rd quarter 2019. The output was posted at 8,983 metric tons higher than the 8,737 metric tons output in     3^rd quarter 2018. All the provinces of the region, except Pangasinan, recorded higher production. The harvest area increased from 2,070 hectares to 2,134 hectares due to availability of planting materials and new plantings from idle lands. The overall yield per hectare, however, went down from 4.22 metric tons to 4.21 metric tons.

Ilocos Sur, which ranked first in terms of volume of production with 47.03 percent, registered higher output in 3^rd quarter of 2019. From 3,993 metric tons production in the same period of 2018, it went up to 4,225 metric tons due to encouraging price and increased demand for “nilaga” and grilled corn. Thus, harvest area expanded from 899 hectares to 944 hectares. The overall yield per hectare also improved from 4.44 metric tons to 4.48 metric tons due to increased usage of high quality seeds and non-occurrence of destructive typhoons.

Pangasinan ranked second with 27.51 percent of the total corn production in the region in 3^rd quarter 2019. Its corn production went down from 2,795 metric tons in 3^rd quarter 2018 to 2,471 metric tons in 3^rd quarter 2019. The harvest area decreased to 568 hectares from the 629 hectares harvested in the same period of 2018 due to high moisture content during planting. Likewise, the overall yield per hectare went down to 4.35 metric tons from 4.44 metric tons.

Ilocos Norte accounted for 15.93 percent of the total corn production in the region in 3^rd quarter 2019. It registered a production of 1,431 metric tons, higher than the production of 1,424 metric tons recorded in the same quarter of 2018. The yield per hectare improved from 3.80 metric tons to 3.93 metric tons due to increased use of high quality seeds. On the other hand, some plantings were damaged by Typhoon Ineng that resulted to lower harvest area of 364 hectares from the 375 hectares in 3^rd quarter 2018.

The province of La Union recorded the least corn production in 3^rd quarter 2019 with 9.53 percent of the total corn production in Ilocos Region. From 525 metric tons volume of production in 3^rd quarter 2018, the corn production in the province grew to 856 metric tons this year. The harvest area expanded from 167 hectares to 258 hectares due to additional areas from idle land and shifting from seed production.  Likewise, the overall yield per hectare went up from 3.14 metric tons to 3.32 metric tons.

TECHNICAL NOTES

• The Palay and Corn Production Survey (PCPS) consists of two national quarterly surveys which are conducted simultaneously. These are the Palay Production Survey (PPS) and Corn Production Survey (CPS). The surveys generate estimates on palay and corn production, area and yield and other production-related data that serve as inputs for policymaking and programs on palay/rice and corn. The PCPS covers sample-farming households in sample barangays in all provinces. It is conducted quarterly with the following quarters as the reference periods:

April Round Survey - January to March

July Round Survey - April to June

October Round Survey - July to September

January Round Survey - October to December

• The objective of the survey is to generate estimates and forecasts on palay and corn area, production, and yield.

• The purpose of this survey is to provide data inputs for policies and programs on rice and corn.

SGD. ATTY. SHEILA O. DE GUZMAN

(Chief Administrative Officer)

          Officer-in-Charge