The Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement a pilot biological control program to address the increasing rodent infestation in the country.

DA assistant secretary Dante Delima, coordinator of National Rice Program, said that they would first implement the program in Region 6 covering the provinces of Aklan, Anti-que, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental; and Region 7 covering the province of Negros Oriental.

“We will conduct the pilot program in Iloilo and Negros Occidental by first quarter of 2013. It will be an island-wide implementation since rat infestation in these provinces is at its worst,” Delima said.

The DA official explained that they would use pellet-type feeds, which will be embedded with live microorganisms and biological rat control agent that was developed in Cuba.

He also assured that the program will utilize biological rodenticides that are highly effective in control of rats, harmless towards other animal species and humans, environment friendly and highly biodegradable and long time span effectiveness.

On November 13 to 20, Cuban agriculture officials and representatives from the company that developed the rat control agents will visit the country to determine the extent of the infestation.

“Based on our estimates, rat infestation now accounts to more than 5 percent of the total agricultural losses in the country,” Delima said.

Earlier, DA regional field units (RFUs) in Western Visayas launched a year-round pest control program, focusing on the rat infestation because of the increasing farm damage and illnesses.

The RFUs also implemented a massive rat baiting campaign in affected municipalities, as well as information campaign among farmers and other rural folk on how to effectively control rats and prevent similar occurrences.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Emerson Palad has ordered the creation of special task force for the implementation of the biological rat control program in Western Visayas.

The DA official said that the task force will oversee the development and implementation of the program in participating provinces, with possible replication in other provinces.

With continuous round of cropping and adequate water supply, rat infestation has hounded farmlands across the country.

To prevent rat infestation, experts from the DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) recommend the gathering of excess grains from the field to prevent rats from inhabiting. Rodents multiply rapidly when food sources are plenty. PhilRice also urged farmers to adopt synchronous planting, keep irrigation banks and paddies less than 20 centimeters wide to hinder rats from burrowing and build their habitat.

“Stay vigilant during periods when rats reproduce, at one month before seeding and during rice plants’ reproductive stage. Rats also surface after heavy rains and floods. Hunt and exterminate them using baits, sticks or flamethrower,” PhilRice said.