Public Square
Guimba agri stakeholders pledge support to rice farmers

ACCORDING to the data gathered by the Cooperative Enterprise of True Economic Reform (Center), the biggest cooperative in the Municipality of Guimba has 15,000 hectares of farmland dedicated to rice production. Ninety-nine percent of these lands are irrigated and can produce seven tons of rice per hectare during the dry season. This is higher than the national average of 4.5 tons per hectare.

Despite high production, persistent challenges plagued the rice farmers of Guimba, such as declining palay prices, increasing cost of fuel and fertilizers, and rising production costs. Added to these are problems of drought and strong typhoons, which are brought about by climate change.

If Nueva Ecija is the rice granary of the country, then the Municipality of Guimba is the ‘rice granary of the rice granary.’ CONTRIBUTED PHOTO