Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija – The province of Nueva Ecija is celebrating the Harvest Festival for Double Dry Crop 2025 at the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Barangay Pamaldan here on 12 August 2025.

Led by NIA, with the help of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the festival was graved by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. who gave support and knowledge on the importance of the double dry program for Novo Ecijano farmers.

The event was highlighted by the ceremonial harvesting of palay in a 5.7-hectare farmland of Mr. Arsenio Mallare, one of the farmer-beneficiaries of Double Dry Program.

This festival is a celebration of the bountiful harvest of the Irrigators Associations and success of the government’s intensified rice production strategy under the Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP). 

It is also a testament to the dedication of the farmers and the success of the Double Dry Cropping Program, a flagship initiative of NIA Administrator Engr. Eddie G. Guillen.

Guillen is pushing for the concept of rescheduling of planting of palay called cropping intensity that aims to boost the harvest of rice farmers in Nueva Ecija. He added that there is a need to change the planting calendar of farmers for a more bountiful harvest.

By following the cropping intensity, the planting season will be scheduled during summer or from October to February, while from March to July will be used for the Double Dry Technology.

The said season is efficient for palay since the sun is needed to boost the quality and quantity of the palay.

He added that the Double Dry Technology is a tried and tested style of farming since they have already done this under the Contract Farming Program of the agency, citing that the NIA buys the farm inputs of farmers so they can plant during said time.