3,000 hectares in Iwahig to be developed for rice production

By Cheryl A. Galili and Alex J. Villanueva, Jr.

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) will develop 3,000 hectares of land inside the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) for substantial rice production to alleviate the country’s dwindling rice supply which has apparently resulted to increase of grains prices.

Yap was in Puerto Princesa on April 18 to visit the 26-hectare wide penal farm with New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines David Pine, Bureau of Corrections Director Oscar Calderon, Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes, 2^nd Palawan District Rep. Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra, who is also chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, several DA officials and other government representatives.

The penal farm, located south of the city before the town of Aborlan of the second district, is an open prison where rice fields are tended by inmates in the minimum penitentiary.

Yap said 3,000 hectares of land in the IPPF can generate 300,000 metric tons of rice with an average of five tonnages per hectare for two harvests a year. This means the penal farm can supply 20% of Manila’s consumption of rice for almost four days.

Manila is consuming 105,500 bags of rice in a day compared to the province that’s only expending 7,500 sacks per day.

The DA chief said P150 million are needed to expand Iwahig’s irrigation system, purchase seedlings and other farm inputs, post-harvest facilities and other agricultural technologies to carry out the plan. He said this can be possible with financial support from other government agencies.

Aside from Iwahig, the national government is also looking at developing other penal colonies in the country with large parcels of land for rice production, such as Sablayan, Abuyog and Davao. Turning them into rice granaries, Yap said, can be a solution to the rice problems.

Earlier in the month, the Bureau of Corrections in Puerto Princesa and the DA signed an agreement to develop Iwahig as rice-producing area. Under this, the City Government shall provide the logistical requirements and assistance in the propagation of seedlings, while the DA will provide the technical support needed.

The IPP, considered to be the only penal colony that’s “without walls” in the whole country, is a vast farm field that can yield sacks of rice if only utilized properly by the government. Currently, the rice it produces is enough for the need of the inmates there.

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