ILOILO City – Apart from the initial “separation anxiety” on the part of Western Visayas, the Department of Agriculture (DA) foresees no negative effects from the re-structuring of Region 6 that will see it losing the robust economies of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City to the newly established Negros Island Region (NIR).
The re-establishment of NIR will even be beneficial for both Negros and Panay islands, and even for the island province of Guimaras, said DA regional executive director Dennis Arpia.
The creation of independent regional offices as part of the NIR could lead to more focused attention on local areas, he explained.
“In fact, we believe it will be helpful because it allows for more targeted efforts in these areas,” Arpia said.
He is optimistic that with NIR having its regional offices, it could enhance the implementation of more concrete projects, programs, and services within its service or coverage area.
As a consequence of NIR’s re-establishment, DA Region 6 will see a reduction in personnel as Negros will belong to the new region, thereby reducing DA-6’s area of responsibility.
According to Arpa, this reduction in geographical coverage for DA-6 will enable it to concentrate more on increasing rice production per hectare.
Currently, rice sufficiency in Western Visayas is between 110 to 120 percent. Arpia anticipates that this figure could rise further once Panay Island and Guimaras are separated from Negros.
One of DA-6’s goals is to increase the rice yield from 3.4 metric tons per hectare to four metric tons.
Arpia added, “Now that our focus will be on a smaller area, we can further enhance our output, especially with the support of our municipal, provincial, and city agriculture offices and, of course, the commitment of our farmers to embrace and adopt new technologies.”
Regarding budget appropriations, Arpia said there would be no significant issues or effects as DA-6’s project and program implementation is per specific site and not region-wide.
“So there will be no major adjustment needed on our end, except that some of our colleagues will now belong to a different region, but the more the merrier. Currently, our focus is on increasing productivity here,” Arpia said.
DIFFERENT VIEW
According to the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) in Region 6, the re-establishment of NIR would have significant economic implications for Western Visayas.
Nelida Amolar, PSA-6 officer-in-charge, said the departure of Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, could reduce the region’s economic performance by almost 40 percent.
Amolar cited the huge contributions of Negros Occidental, particularly Bacolod City, to the region’s economic growth, helping Region 6 achieve a “trillionaire” mark.
Miguel Gallego, PSA-6 statistical specialist, said Bacolod City and Negros Occidental have huge contributions to the overall inflation rates of Western Visayas.
Negros Occidental posted a lower inflation rate compared to April 2024, recording the lowest at 4.2 percent.
Both highly urbanized cities in the region recorded upward inflation rates last month. Iloilo City’s monthly inflation rate is 1.3 percent from 0.8 percent in April 2024, and Bacolod City at 4.5 percent from 3.9 percent in April.
Gallego noted that the exclusion of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City the regional economic basket of Western Visayas will have a huge effect on the region’s overall inflation rate.
“If we based on the economic weight per province, Negros Occidental has a huge contribution to the regional inflation rate. For sure, it will have a huge effect if they (Negros Occidental and Bacolod City) are no longer part of Region 6,” Gallero stressed./PN
