The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) have started the delivery of certified inbred seeds for the rice planting season in Marinduque.
The parties said in a statement on Monday certified inbred seeds are vital to the success of the recently adopted double dry cropping system that promises higher farm productivity and farmers’ incomes, aside from ensuring food security and making farming more resilient to the challenges posed by climate change.
The seed program, backed by the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), has allocated a total of 5,546 bags of certified inbred seeds for Marinduque’s farmers to cover 2,558 hectares of land under the Double Dry Cropping Scheme to maximize crop output during the period between the dry and wet seasons, the agencies said.
The DA reported initial deliveries made to farmers in Mogpog and Santa Cruz who now have access to NSIC Rc 160, a high-yielding variety that is highly resistant to pests such as yellow stem borers.
This rice variety also matures in just 107 days, with a potential yield of up to 5.6 tons per hectare (ha), equivalent to 112 50-kg bags of palay, the DA noted.
In comparison, PhilRice said Marinduque farmers harvested a total of 16,526 metric tons (MT) of palay from 5,085 ha last year, yielding 3.25 MT per ha, or 65 50-kg sacks of palay.
Marinduque was prioritized for this initiative as farmers in the province’s irrigated areas started land preparation and planting in the last week of March, PhilRice added.
“With the early delivery of seeds, farmers can now complete two cropping cycles before the typhoon season, reducing the risk of palay losses due to extreme weather,” said Rhemilyn Relado-Sevilla, PhilRice Los Baños director.
Besides Mogpog and Santa Cruz, the parties identified other towns in the region like Boac, Buenavista, Gasan and Torrijos which are also preparing for the upcoming wet season.
Eddie Guillen, NIA administrator, said the program is being expanded to other areas covered by government irrigation systems to further increase farm yields and strengthen food security.
He did not disclose the next target areas for this project but assured a steady supply of irrigation to sustain the regular dry season and the second dry season cropping, so farmers can maximize yield potential across two cropping cycles
