In Ilocos Norte, most second crop palay was on early reproductive phase. Intermittent rainshowers are expected to contribute to the increase of production for the second quarter.
In Ilocos Sur, palay areas increased as the Banaoang Pump Irrigation Project (BPIP) became fully operational. Harvesting was on-going.
In La Union, residual harvesting of second crop palay was carried out.
In Pangasinan, 99 percent of second crop palay were already harvested with an estimated yield of 3.85 mt./ha.
In Ilocos Norte, harvesting of corn started.
In Ilocos Sur, harvesting of corn was on-going and production is expected to increase as more farmers used BT corn/DEKALB.
In La Union, harvesting of second crop yellow and white corn was on-going. In Naguilian and Bauang, planting of white corn continued.
In Ilocos Sur, production of cabbage, eggplant and stringbeans increased due to increased area planted. On the other hand, calamansi production went down due to lesser bearing trees and cutting down of unproductive trees. Production of mango also decreased owing to lesser fruits developed because of rains during the flowering and fruiting stages.
Still in Ilocos Sur, production of onion decreased because of reduced area planted as planting materials were not available. Conversely, production of pepper increased as a result of more areas planted.
In La Union, harvesting of lowland vegetables and rootcrops was still on-going. Supply to traders within and outside the province was sufficient.
In Pangasinan, 95 percent of the total area planted to onion were harvested with an average yield of 6 mt./ha while peak harvesting of turnips produced an average yield of 16 mt./ha.
In Ilocos Sur, tobacco areas increased as some farmers shifted from corn planting due to encouraging price last cropping season. Harvesting was on-going.
In La Union, harvesting, drying and marketing of all varieties of tobacco were the main activities of tobacco farmers.
2. LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY
In Ilocos Sur, more inflow of live carabao and cattle for slaughter directly to abattoirs from Ilocos Norte and La Union was noted.
In Ilocos Sur, goat production went down owing to lesser stocks available for slaughter. On the other hand, in Pangasinan, inventory of goat was higher because of more live births.
In Pangasinan, the number of hog raisers decreased as a result of increasing price of feeds.
3. FISHERIES
In San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, production in aquaculture farms increased owing to additional areas harvested with vannamei.
In Pangasinan, mortality rate in aquaculture farms was lower because of good water quality attributed to the clearing of illegally constructed pens and cages.
In Ilocos Sur, municipal and commercial fishery products slightly increased due to more unloadings and more fishing days.
In La Union, marine fish catch was lesser as seas were rough because of easterly winds.
In Pangasinan, fish catch in municipal waters was lesser as school of fish of tuna, dorado and other species were fewer. This was attributed to the hot weather as fishes go deeper wherein sea temperature is colder.
4. PRICES AND MARKET SUPPLY
In La Union, supply of dried yellow corn was sufficient.
In Pangasinan, well milled rice slightly increased due to old stock. Prices of livestock and poultry were normal across provinces in the region.
In Ilocos Sur and Pangasinan, price of tomato increased as supply was low and demand of outside buyers was high.
In La Union, prices of most lowland vegetables and rootcrops increased as supply from other sources was lower.
In Pangasinan, prices of okra, cabbage, pechay and other leafy vegetables increased owing to lower supply and increased demand in celebration of the Holy Week. Price of turnips decreased due to high supply.
In Ilocos Sur, price of stringbeans went up due to higher demand of outside buyers.
In La Union, prices of all varieties of tobacco were reasonable. Most tobacco farmers were engaged in contract farming.
In Pangasinan, prices of watermelon and onion decreased because of abundant supply. On the contrary, prices of aquaculture and marine fish increased due to lesser supply and increased demand in celebration of the Holy Week.
5. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS
In Ilocos Norte, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics Provincial Operations Center (BAS-POC) together with other agencies and organizations participated in "Save the Earth" tree planting activity of Gov. Imee R. Marcos. The event was held at the Paoay Lake area near Malacañang of the North Palace.
In La Union, planting of mangroves at the shores of coastal barangays was on-going. Vaccination of large animals was implemented as one of the activities of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) funded by the Local Government Unit (LGU).
In La Union, closer monitoring of illegal fishing activities was continued by the DA and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
6. TRAINING, SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS
In La Union, crop cutting of yellow and white corn was conducted in the first and second districts to prove the increasing yield of hybrid corn. The activity was a joint undertaking of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the BAS to validate and reconcile the productivity level of white and yellow corn across the province.
7. WEATHER SITUATION
Hot sunny days with moderate to strong winds and scattered heavy rains especially at the northern and eastern parts of the region prevailed.