ILOILO CITY — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Western Visayas stands to enjoy a boost in agricultural productivity despite the separation of Negros Occidental and the highly urbanized city of Bacolod.

Negros Occidental is one of the country's top agricultural provinces, but according to DA-6 Director Dennis Arpia, its exclusion from Western Visayas would not significantly impact the region's food security.

"That has no effect on food security. In fact, we believe it will help since there is a focus on our programs," explained Arpia.

Arpia noted that the creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) reduces their area of responsibility, enabling a more focused approach to increasing agricultural productivity on Panay Island and Guimaras.

"The contribution of around 110 to 120 percent sufficiency in the whole Western Visayas, here in Panay Island and Guimaras, we can further increase productivity," he said.

"If before we harvested less than 4 tons per hectare, now, with more focused attention on one area, we can significantly increase it with the help of our offices and the commitment of our farmers to embrace technology and focus on the adaptation in the use of technology," Arpia added.

The NIR having its own DA regional office, Arpia said the government can further promote agricultural productivity.

Arpia also noted that the DA-6 budget remains unaffected as allocations are specific to attached agencies and each province.

"The political units have simply shifted. There will be no major adjustments on our end, except that one province will now be part of a different region," he said.