NAGA CITY, Camarines Sur (PIA) -- Camarines Sur is on track to become the fourth biggest rice-producing province in the country with the help of the Department of Agriculture's initiative to mechanize rice farming in the area.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. shared this promising development after overseeing the turnover of P75 million worth of farm machinery and financial aid to cooperatives and associations of rice farmers on April 12.

In his speech, Laurel said the goal is to increase rice production in the province and elevate it to the fourth position in the country.

Laurel said that the mechanization and improvement of productivity in palay farms in Camarines Sur are part of the Department of Agriculture's three-year agricultural development roadmap.

This plan aims to achieve the Marcos administration's goal of attaining self-sufficiency of the country's staple food by 2025.

Laurel also noted that increasing the productivity of palay farms in the largest province of Bicol would help decrease the price of rice in the region.

For rice production, productivity is measured by the amount of rice produced per hectare of land.

According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute, in 2023, rice farms in Camarines Sur produced only 3.72 metric tons of palay per hectare. This is significantly lower than the average yield of 6.08 metric tons per hectare that Nueva Ecija, the country's rice granary, produced in the same year.

A total of 643,401 metric tons of palay were harvested from the 172,817 hectares of rice farms in Camarines Sur.

The province is currently ranked sixth in rice production and is one of the top 10 rice-producing provinces in the country that has pledged to increase rice production to bring down prices.

These 10 provinces account for 48 percent of the country's total rice output.

Camarines Sur Gov. Luigi Villafuerte vowed that the provincial government will continue to support local farmers and sustain programs aimed at empowering them.

Jejomar Aguilar, the president of the Monte Calvario Smart Farmers Association, said that the new four-wheeled tractors provided to them have made farming more convenient and encouraged them to expand their farm lots to produce more palay.

The DA provided 28 units of four-wheeled tractors, which will benefit 2,128 rice farmers who are members of farmers' associations and cooperatives in Camarines Sur.

In addition to the machinery, each of the 2,128 farmers received P5,000 in cash. This will help the farmers prepare their farming land without having to work under extreme heat and increase their production.  (PIA 5/Camarines Sur)