(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Monday, 08 December 2025) At 3:00 AM today, the center of Tropical Depression "WILMA" was estimated based on all available data in the vicinity of Matuguinao, Samar (12.2°N 125.0°E) with maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 75 km/h. It is moving West Northwestward at 15 km/h. Shear Line affecting the eastern section of Southern Luzon. Northeast Monsoon affecting the rest of Luzon. Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms. Moderate to strong winds from northeast to northwest will prevail over the western sections of Mindanao with moderate to rough seas (1.2 to 3.1 meters). Elsewhere, moderate winds from the northwest to southwest to southeast with moderate seas (1.2 to 2.5 meters).


Thursday, September 8, 2022

DA fertilizer discount voucher reaches 10k Caraga rice farmers

BUTUAN CITY -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) – Caraga in coordination with the Local Government Units has distributed the Fertilizer Discount Vouchers to rice farmers in Surigao del Norte and the Province of Dinagat Islands from August 18 until September 9.

The intervention benefited 7,919 rice farmers in the Province of Surigao del Norte and 2,918 in the Province of Dinagat Islands.  Each voucher is equivalent to ₱1,131 per hectare for farms planted with inbred seeds, and ₱2,262 per hectare for hybrid seeds.


Fertilizer vouchers are given to farmers registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) and encoded in the National Farmers’ and Fishers’ Online-Registry System (NFFRS) or the National Farmers and Fisheries Information System (NFFIS) and availed of rice seeds from the DA-Caraga Rice Program in the current planting season.


Rice Program Focal Person Marisa Garces of DA-Caraga said that the discount voucher can be exchanged for inorganic and organic fertilizers at accredited merchants in the region. "As the prices of inorganic fertilizers continue to increase, the DA promotes the Balance Fertilization Strategy, which combines inorganic and organic fertilizers," she added. 


In the Caraga Region, non-Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) areas such as Surigao del Norte and the Province of Dinagat Islands are the focus of the fertilizer support through the DA National Rice Program. This has been emphasized by Regional Executive Director Ricardo M. Oñate, Jr.


"Our interventions are strategized to optimize the Department’s funds. This is our approach to aid the rice farmers in non-RCEF areas to increase their productivity and ensure food security in their respective provinces, particularly because they are classified as island provinces," Director Oñate said. 


Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority, the average yield of rice production in Surigao del Norte and the Province of Dinagat Islands in 2021 was 3.36 metric tons and 2.72 metric tons, respectively. 


As DA-Caraga continues to provide various interventions in the non-RCEF provinces, it is expected to contribute to the increase in production by at least 3-5% for this year. (Rhea C. Abao, DA-Caraga RAFIS/PIA-Surigao del Norte)

 

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