The country's rice harvest reached 7.38 million metric tons during the first 6 months of the year, a 3.65% growth from the same period in 2008, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday.
According to Director Frisco Malabanan of DA's GMA Rice Program, the government is on track to meet its full-year target of 17.48 million metric tons given the healthy rise in rice production during the first half.
Last year, the Philippines produced 16.82 million metric tons of rice.
The Philippines has become the world's top rice importer as the country continues to suffer from rice shortage. Last year, the government was forced to import 2.4 million tons of rice from other east Asian countries and the United States.
To respond to this problem, the government has launched the GMA rice self-sufficiency program, with the aim to make the country an independent rice producer by 2013.
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