The Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA) reported Friday an early harvest of 3,375.31 metric tons in several towns of Antique for the first cropping season.

OPA Rice Report Officer Ma. Lourdes Fortaleza said the harvest was from the 58.65 hectares rice area in the towns of Barbaza, Hamtic, and in Sibalom.

This contributed a huge share to the 14,444.36 metric tons overall production in Western Visayas from 120.15 hectares of harvested rice areas in the region in July.

Meanwhile, National Food Authority (NFA) Antique provincial manager Marianito B. Bejemino said that aside from rice stocks as a result of early harvests, they also have in their warehouses more than 7,000 bags of rice.

“The NFA, in its two warehouses in San Jose de Buenavista and Culasi, has 7,525 bags of rice as buffer stock,” Bejemino said.

Assuring the Antiqueños of rice supply, Bejemino added that rice are also available from rice traders and that households did not run out of supply. (PNA)