I. CROPS

• In Abra, transplanting of palay in irrigated areas was on-going in the province. On the other hand, harvesting of white corn was already noted in some parts of the province particularly in San Quintin.
• In Apayao, palay and corn were mostly in the vegetative state except for those that were planted early which were already in the maturing stage. Repair of the main irrigation canal servicing the municipalities of Flora and Sta.Marcela was concluded thereby allowing planting of all irrigated palay areas in the two municipalities.
• In Benguet, increased production of most temperate vegetables namely cabbage, carrots, radish, white potato, sweet bell pepper (red and green), habitchuelas, broccoli, lettuce, wongbok, sweetpeas, and cucumber was noted.
• In Ifugao, vegetable production slightly increased. There was no reported significant pest infestation in the province.
• In Kalinga, palay were mostly on the reproductive and maturing stage in the municipalities of Pinukpuk and Rizal. On the other hand, vegetative stage of palay was observed in Tabuk City, Pasil and Balbalan. Usage of certified rice seeds was noted in some barangays of upper Pinukpuk. Meanwhile, harvesting of corn has started during the last week of the reference month. Cutting of sugarcane for centrifugal and ethanol was also on going in the province.
• In Mt. Province, land preparation and planting of palay were the main farming activities in all municipalities during the month.

II.  LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY

• In Abra, trading of large animals at LOM (Livestock “Oksyon” Market) in Dolores municipality was observed to be in normal situation. At LOM Bangued, more supply of hogs due to inflow from nearby provinces was noted
• In Apayao, there was a reported death of 3 carabaos in the municipality of Flora. The cold weather and malnutrition due to decrease in pasture land may have caused the death of the animals. Meanwhile, the Agricultural Technicians (ATs) of the Municipal Agricultural Office (MAO) of Flora conducted deworming activities in the municipality having treated a total of 15 hogs and 5 carabaos. The activity was done in cooperation with the barangay officials. The MAO of Flora provided the vaccines and medicines for the animals.
• In Ifugao, about 11 head of cattle and 3 head of carabaos sourced from from the municipalities of Aguinaldo, Mayoyao, Lamut and Alfonso Lista were shipped-out to Urdaneta City. On the other hand, 305 head of hogs from N. Vizcaya, Isabela, Quirino and Cagayan were shipped in the province. Also, 10,000 head of culled layers sourced from Bulacan, and Batangas were recorded shipped in the province. There was no reported disease outbreak in the province for the period covered.

III. FISHERIES

• In Kalinga, harvesting and seeding of most ponds were the main fishery activities. However, it was also observed that some ponds in Tabuk City were unoperational. On inland municipal, more fishing days were reported due to good weather condition.

IV. PRICES AND MARKET SITUATION

• In Abra, price of agricultural commodities were generally stable particularly vegetables and cereals.
• In Apayao, supply level of most agricultural products was stable thus, prices also remained stable. On the other hand, price of banana lakatan increased over last month due to increasing demand.
• In Benguet, abundant supply of agricultural commodities was observed in the market particularly temperate vegetables.
• In Ifugao, prices of vegetables, fruits, fish, livestock and poultry were within the normal level during the reference period. There was adequate supply of vegetables, fish and poultry in the market.
• In Kalinga, more supply of tomato, habitchuelas, wongbok and cabbage since harvest was still going on in the province.
• In Mt. Province, adequate supply of agricultural commodities was observed in Bontoc Public Market.

V. SIGNIFICANT AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT/ PROGRAMS/POLICIES/ GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

• In Abra, concreting of the Betuen, Baay- Lacub road was on-going
• In Apayao, the LGU of Flora through the MAO distributed 500 bags of certified palay seeds to farmers. The LGU subsidized P300.00/bag of the seed so that instead of P1,360/bag, farmer beneficiaries paid only P1,060 each from the original price of P1,360.00. Still in Apayao, two units of multi-purpose drying pavement (MPDP) were constructed in the barangays of Anninipan and Malubibit Norte in the municipality of Flora. Each MPDP cost P150,000 which was financed by DA CAR. The labor in the construction was the counterpart of the beneficiaries
• In Kalinga, construction of farm to market road from Allaguia to Asibanglan of Pinukpuk municipality was nearly completed. Also, three MPDPs were constructed at Babalag East, Calaocan and San Pascual barangays, all in Rizal municipality granted under the Rice Program of the DA. Under the Corn Program one unit of corn planter was awarded to the corn and vegetables association of Liwan West, Rizal.
• In Mt. Province, there was an on-going widening and concreting of some portions of the main road in the municipality of Barlig. This would benefit the farmers and traders particularly in the delivery of agricultural produce

VI. SEMINARS/TRAININGS/WORKSHOPS/MEETINGS

• In Abra, a meeting of MAOs and Rice Coordinators was held at the Farmers Training Center Provincial Agriculture Office in brgy. Calaba, Bangued on February 18, 2015. The agenda included High Yielding Technology Adaptation (HYTA) discussed by a staff from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAG). Another topic discussed was the Community Seed Bank which offers farmers to borrow registered seeds for planting. After harvest, the farmer should return the seeds at an interest of 1.5%.
• In Mt. Province, a training on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) was conducted by the Offices of the Municipal and Provincial Agriculturist (OMAG-Bauko & OPAG) in Monamon Sur, Bauko with 42 farmer-participants.

VII. WEATHER/CLIMATIC CONDITION/OUTLOOK

• Generally fair to cold weather with scattered rains in the afternoon prevailed over the region during the reference month. Such weather was beneficial to growing crops.