Rice farmers in the province of Kalinga have seen a big improvement in their production following the initial implementation of the use of drones in various farm operations.
Said initiative of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) is a sub-component of the Drones4Rice Project of the DA-National Rice Program (DA NRP), which aims to standardize protocols for drone applications of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides for rice production in the Philippines.
The Drones4Rice Project also aims to reduce production costs, resolve the scarcity of manual labor, and attract youth to farming.
Gabriel Balion, acting President of the Calaocan Farmers Association (CFA), confirmed that there is an increase in their production as compared to the traditional farming being applied by rice farmers in the province. These were greatly attributed to the precise distribution of seeds, inorganic fertilizers, biofertilizers, and ameliorants, according to Balion. The CFA is the first Farmer’s Cooperative and Association (FCA) rice cluster in Barangay Santor, Rizal, Kalinga which was created for rice farmers who have acquired the services of the drone in rice farming.
“Comparing the 206 cavans normally produced by our farmers through the traditional manual farming method, our farmers have doubled their production to 430 cavans with an average of 60 kilograms after our fresh harvest in March, due to the drone implemented last December 2024. As a result, our membership in the rice cluster has also increased from 11 initial rice farmers to 17 farmers coming from various farmers’ cooperatives and associations covering an initial of 27 to 47 hectares,” Balion said using their local language.
Moreover, Noel Padios, CFA member, also reiterated that the use of the drone in their farming schedule was very timely as it has reduced their cost of production as compared to the traditional farming method that is manually done.
“We are very thankful to DA-CAR for introducing the use of drone in our farms as it has helped us increase our production. We are hopeful that despite other challenges faced by our farmers in terms of production and yield, this support of DA-CAR will serve as an example on the continuing efforts being done by the government to improve the lives of our rice farmers in Kalinga and in other areas of the region,” Padios said in their local language.
The CFA is also the recipient of the second implementation of the use of drone in the Cordillera region. By JTLlanes
