Northern Samar mulls harvest festival

CATARMAN, Northern Samar — The Northern Samar provincial government ties up with a private company, TAO Corporation, to boost rice production in the province using hybrid varieties.

The partnership engaged the farmers through Irrigators Association (IA) in a dialogue for the launching of Nortehanon Hybrid Rice Production initiative next month, which include the holding of its first-ever Harvest Festival.

Provincial agriculturist Jose Acompañado said the festival will showcase the progress of rice farmers that participated in hybrid rice farming in Northern Samar and promote their yield to a larger market.

Northern Samar boasts rice as its second top commodity in the province, with a total production volume of over 76 thousand metric tons in 2024.

Acompañado said this significant output highlights the province’s commitment to strengthening its agricultural sector and ensuring food security.

He added the introduction of hybrid rice farming, the Nortehanon farmers are expected to achieve even higher yields, improving their livelihoods and contributing to the province’s overall economic growth.

A team from TAO Corp. will be touring around Northern Samar to engage IAs into promoting hybrid rice farming and its benefit of maximizing productivity. TAO will also highlight the programs basic support such as technical support, farm management practices, and other various assistance available to the participating IAs.

Last year, has identified 500 hectares of potential rice production areas in the towns of Laoang, Las Navas, and Mondragon to pilot large-scale rice farming in the province.