LAST December, a group of rice farmers from Central and Southern Luzon met with Metro Manila media men at the Pan de Sal Forum in Quezon City and aired their plaints, hoping that through the media, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who is also agriculture secretary would hear them.
What the farmers had to say resonates fully with the President’s avowed goal to achieve self-sufficiency in rice for the nation, and at the same time try to lower the price of this staple to something like P20 per kilo.
The farmers said self-sufficiency in rice can be achieved by ramping up production, and harvests can be increased by using the new agri technology from China called tropical hybrid rice. These farmers know whereof they speak, because they are using that particular agricultural innovation, and have profited much from it. In the same breath, they wondered why the Rice Tariffication Law, which is also purportedly designed to make the Philippines self-sufficient in rice, does not even mention hybrid rice as if this new discovery does not exist.
Well, now, these farmers are beginning to feel new hope as the President-Department of Agriculture chief probably has seen the light. Last week, the Presidential Communications Office in Malacañang announced that Marcos has agreed to adopt hybrid rice as a better alternative to the inbred variety for increased crop production.
According to the PCO, this happened after the President met with SL Agritech Corporation (SLAC) chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Henry Lim Bon Liong and farmers from Central Luzon to address the challenges in the rice industry.
‘This should be a better alternative than what other experts have proposed, which is to increase government subsidies for every stage of rice production, distribution and marketing.’
In the meeting, the SLAC, a private firm engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of hybrid rice seeds and premium quality rice, recommended the conversion of rice farming areas for certified seeds (CS) to hybrid seeds. The SLAC proposed to convert 1.90 million hectares of target areas planted with CS to hybrid seeds in four years.
According to the PCO, Marcos said he will implement a program to promote the shift by providing subsidies and facilitating loan financing to farmers. Aside from his commitment to further strengthening financial support to local farmers via the loan financing program, the President also vowed to apply the best practices being done by Central Luzon farmers to other areas in the country.
Citing a study by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and local government units, the PCO said the hybrid system has given 41% better yield than inbred conventional seeds over the past two years. “Hybrid farmers have reported harvesting around 7 to 15 metric tons (MT) per hectare as compared to the average 3.6 MT/hectare for inbred seeds,” the Palace said.
Bon Liong said that if adopted nationwide on a two-cropping cycle per year, hybrid technology will give better income to farmers and achieve rice sufficiency for the country. This should be a better alternative than what other experts have proposed, which is to increase government subsidies for every stage of rice production, distribution and marketing.
Another measure that the government must take is to increase the total hectares of agricultural land devoted to rice production. That way, we can meet our national grain requirement of 22 million tons to be self-sufficient, instead of relying on rice importation year after year.
