The Philippines
November 4, 2003
by Melody
Aguiba
Manila Bulletin via
SEARCA
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is planning to expand hybrid
rice planting target from 300,000 to as much as 600,000 hectares
so as to raise chances of achieving 97 percent rice sufficiency
by the end of the dry season, crop year 2004-2005.
Frisco M. Malabanan, DA rice program director, said government
is contemplating on stretching the hybrid rice target as part of
the goal for rice sufficiency, although nothing has been made
final yet considering government's budgetary constraint.
"That is the intention-to raise target to 500,000 to 600,000
hectares, but that's not yet final. It will all depend on
whether government has the budget," he said.
Malabanan said the target revision will also depend heavily on
seed availability, although seed producers including top player
SL Agritech Corp. (SLAC) and Monsanto Philippines Inc. (MPI)
have been expecting that government should really raise target
for hybrid rice production.
"Three hundred thousand is not enough for (us to achieve) rice
sufficiency," said SLAC President Henry Lim Bon Liong.
Noel Borlongan, MPI government and public affairs director, said
MPI may raise its seed production together with the government
plan,
"We have 3,500 bags available of Magilas for the dry season
planting (November 2003-April 204). We have been increasing our
production every year. We are meeting (to consider raising our
seed production)," he said.
As some hybrid rice farmers have been claiming that it cannot
sell its produce to the government, Arthur C. Yap, administrator
of the National Food Administration (NFA), said NFA is prepared
to align its palay buying program with the DA's planned area
expansion for hybrid rice.
"We'll try to see how we can help Director Malabanan said buying
hybrid rice at P9.50 (per kilo) is (already) acceptable to
farmers. NFA is looking at (how to buy hybrid rice production)
from 36 identified provinces," he said.
The high-yielding rice variety that has so far proven in
Occidental Mindoro to achieve 14.6 metric tons (MT) per hectare,
about five times higher than national average yield of three MT
per hectare.
DA originally set hybrid rice target at 300,000 hectares by the
end of dry season ending 2005, but the target obviously falls
short of 97 percent rice sufficiency aim by 2005. Besides,
Malabanan said the hybrid rice planting is also complemented by
planting of certified seeds which may total to 1.3 million
hectares for crop year given a 500,000 hectare hybrid rice
planting.
As for the last dry season, hybrid rice was planted on a total
of 47,983 hectares, up by 125 percent from 21,301 hectares in
the same period last year.
For the present dry season (November 2003 to April 2004)
planting, targeted area is 162,078 hectares including 72,108
hectares in Cordillera Autonomous Region, Ilocos, Cagayan
Valley, and Central Luzon; 48,862 hectares in Western, Northern,
and Central Mindanao, Caraga, and the Autonomous Region of
Muslim Mindanao; 20,343 in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas,
Rizal Quezon,) and Bicol; and 20,765 hectares in Western,
Central, and Eastern Visayas.
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