TACLOBAN CITY - The Department of Agriculture (DA) will carry out a soil rejuvenation program in the towns of Abuyog and Javier in Leyte, employing the best-bet soil, water, crop, and nutrient management options to increase yield.

The DA regional office here announced on Tuesday that the program dubbed "Yamang Lupa" will be implemented for three years in the identified clustered villages of Abuyog and Javier towns, replicating the success of the program in Samar, included as pilot area of the program in 2014.

"We are facing many challenges in the region, particularly on the skyrocketing prices of fertilizers. I hope this program could help us address this and all other challenges that our farmers are experiencing. I am thankful that this program is back," said DA Eastern Visayas Regional Executive Director Angel Enriquez in a statement.

The two adjacent Leyte towns have both irrigated and rainfed areas and with watersheds facing challenges of low productivity and ecosystem degradation.

These areas are also the focus of the Regional Convergence Initiative- an undertaking collaborated by government agencies to achieve inclusive growth, improved productivity, poverty reduction, protection and rehabilitation of natural resources, and sustainable and environment-friendly livelihood opportunities and enterprises.

"Outscaling the enhanced program on the other side of Eastern Visayas would mean expanding and intensifying the opportunities of generating more productive agricultural endeavours, where roughly thousand farmers will be able to experience boosts in production and income," Enriquez added.

Specifically, the program aims to reduce production cost by 10 to 20 percent; increase yield and income by at least 15 percent; raise cropping intensity by 30 percent; improve soil fertility by 10 percent; boost farmers' adaptive capacities on farming technologies, strategies, and approaches by 60 percent; operationalize agricultural livelihood and marketing systems by 20 percent; and improve entrepreneurial skills of farmers, youth, and women groups.

The initiative is in collaboration with the Visayas State University in Baybay City and some government agencies.

"Yamang Lupa" was piloted in 2014 in three provinces - Samar, Quezon, and Zamboanga Sibugay.

The program covered 3,705 farmers and a total of 32,903 hectares, where it generated 2,528 soil health cards.

The program in Samar generated soil fertility maps, adopted the best farm management practices, and followed the recommended macro-and micro-nutrients for soil rejuvenation, according to Enriquez.

The DA reported that the average yield in tons per hectare of all commodities increased significantly, with ginger, rice, and sweet potato, posting a 193 percent, 30 percent, and 79 percent increase, respectively. (PNA)