Farmers from Hinigaran town pioneered the inter-cropping of sugarcane and rice in Negros Occidental.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday led the ceremonial planting of the first rice seeds for the Sugarcane-Rice Cropping System Project in Barangay Aranda, Hinigaran.

He was joined by lawyer Ignacio Santillana, deputy administrator for Research, Development and Extension Department of the Sugar Regulatory Administration, Hinigaran Mayor NadieArceo, Provincial Agriculturist JaphetMasculino, and farmers from Bagacay Worker Carper Association Farmworkers Cooperative.

The project, which is a collaboration of OPA, SRA, and the local government of Hinigaran, aims to maximize the utilization of sugarcane areas for inter-cropping with rice to support the food security program of the province.

Lacson said that Hinigaran pioneered the project, adding that there is a study about it.

He said he is hoping it could help augment the income of the sugar farm workers, as well as mitigate the impact of the rice deficit in the province this month and in July.

Santillana said inter-cropping of rice and sugarcane is one way to address the deficit even at the block farm level, as the country continues to import rice.

Masculino said the farmers can harvest the rice in three to four months, adding that he is hoping the program will be successful.

He said the province has 189,000 hectares of sugar farm, “we can inter-crop half of it. This is a big addition to our rice supply and helps bring down the deficit.”*MPE