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).

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.

According to the DA, the Philippines imports nearly 50,000 MT of mung beans annually.

“Considering that munggo is a basic necessity, the local demand for processing, such as munggo  hopia, ready-to-eat munggo soup, lumpiang togue, shall also be addressed and serves as an opportunity for farmers to diversify their income from this cash crop, which is harvested in a shorter time than rice,“ Mr. Laurel said.

The DA said mung beans mature in about 60 days, roughly half the growing time of rice, allowing farmers to earn some income while irrigation repairs continue.

With mung bean having an average yield of roughly 0.7 MT per hectare in Nueva Ecija, farmers can earn about P22,600 per hectare at current selling prices of around P70 per kilo, according to the DA.

Mr. Laurel said the DA will manage the mung bean planting cycle and import controls to keep farmgate prices profitable. “Since 37,000 hectares in UPRIIS are down, planting munggo makes sense. When harvest season comes, we must time imports so our farmers profit,” he said.

The DA said its High-Value Crops Development Program and the NIA will work together to develop the mung bean industry, targeting an additional 21,000 hectares of land served by the NIA. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel